


Sweet Charade

by Crazyloststar



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Inspired by Absolute Boyfriend, M/M, MT Prompto Argentum, Mild Sexual Content
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-03
Updated: 2020-10-03
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:01:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 30,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26795536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crazyloststar/pseuds/Crazyloststar
Summary: Noctis is forced into hiding in Lestallum, and in his loneliness orders N-iP01357. When the android arrives, Noctis gets way more than he had ever imagined.
Relationships: Prompto Argentum/Noctis Lucis Caelum
Comments: 102
Kudos: 118
Collections: Promptis Big Bang 2020





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They approached a long tunnel. Noctis remembered something from when he was a kid, how you were supposed to hold your breath in a tunnel and make a wish. If you managed to not breathe, it was supposed to come true. 
> 
> Noctis took a big gulp of air as they entered it. The lights along the top gave everything a weird yellow glow. He kept the air in his lungs. He focused on one thought - 
> 
> _Keep everyone safe._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello hello! I am so excited to be sharing my fic for the promptis big bang today. There are SO MANY amazing stories and I am honored to be a part of this event. Shout out to the mods, and everyone who participated, for making such a fun event especially during such a crazy tough year. 
> 
> This story was born out of a random idea I had months ago about an absolute boyfriend au, and noctis dressing like david from schitt's creek. You do not need any knowledge of these two things to read the story - they were just a basis for setting and a bit of the plot, but everything else is new to this story. 
> 
> ALSO! Just a quick note that some stuff regarding MTs is hand wavey on purpose because reasons. XD
> 
> My artists for this big bang is [Err](https://twitter.com/Err_417). Please give them lots of love! They have been such a great partner and cheered me on throughout the process, and really helped keep me going to be honest. 
> 
> Also shout out to [cor](https://twitter.com/HardNoctLife) for reading through this not once but TWICE because I was such a mess about it, and for giving me great concrit that really inspired me and helped me get this fic across the finish line. 
> 
> If you don't want to read any smut, but would like to check out this story, it's only in chapter 9, and at the top of that chapter I can give you how to skip! 
> 
> WITH THAT. I hope you enjoy, and thank you in advance for stopping by! I would love to hear you thoughts.

“Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty.”

Noctis opened his eyes slowly. He took in the view outside the car window -- Mountains. Sparse trees. Lots of dirt.

“Clearly not in Insomnia anymore,” his voice cracked, and he winced. He cleared his throat as he sat up a little straighter, planting his chin firmly on his hand.

Gladio chuckled. “You haven’t even seen where we’re stayin’ yet.”

If he wasn’t so sleepy, Noctis would have leaned forward in between the two front seats to get a good look at Gladio’s expression. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“He simply means,” Ignis chimed in, “that we had to make sure we were going somewhere truly out of the way.”

“Lestallum is like another world,” Gladio agreed.

Looking outside once more, Noctis already could see why. Insomnia was all tall skyscrapers and manicured parks. Everything had a purpose and a reason for how and why and where it was. Where they were now it was foreign. Rickety signposts for rest stops. A lone house in the middle of nowhere.

But ya, that was the goal per his father. As far away from home as possible.

They approached a long tunnel. Noctis remembered something from when he was a kid, how you were supposed to hold your breath in a tunnel and make a wish. If you managed to not breathe, it was supposed to come true.

Noctis took a big gulp of air as they entered it. The lights along the top gave everything a weird yellow glow. He kept the air in his lungs. He focused on one thought -

_Keep everyone safe._

They emerged from the tunnel and Noctis let out a breath as a sigh, hidden by a yawn and stretch.

“There she is.” He heard Gladio close his book. “Roll the top down, Iggy.”

“Certainly.” He hit a button and the roof whirred as it rolled back, revealing a bright blue sky and warm air.

Noctis had heard it was warmer in this part of the country but clearly that was a gross understatement, because Astrals it was _hot._

He instantly remembered what most of his wardrobe he had brought consisted of and hoped he could ask someone to ship more clothes to him, or he would be forced to buy a more weather-appropriate wardrobe online. He doubted this small town had any stores that fit his taste.

Thinking about it more, doing some online shopping didn’t sound like the worst thing he could do with his time given the circumstances.

Ignis pulled the car to the left and into a parking lot. “Right, carry whatever is light right now and we can come back for the rest later.”

Noctis all but fell out of the car, body tight and stiff from the drive. He stretched and looked around. To one side it was rugged mountains and what he knew immediately was the Disc of Cauthess. As he walked up the stairs, the city sprawled out in front of him without any sense and with little regard for any open space. He could see food carts and rickety looking plastic tables and chairs. The air carried the smells of all the different cuisines, which just made the persistent heat feel so much fucking worse. When Ignis and Gladio joined him on the sidewalk, Noctis couldn’t help but feel strange that they had parked in what seemed like a public place and not wherever they were staying.

“Wait, why are we parking all the way out here?”

“Lestallum is hundreds of years old, and those who live here have fought to protect its history. Hence not must has changed as far as the architecture and layout. The streets are far too small for cars.”

Noctis blinked at Ignis. Then looked up towards the city. It didn’t look old, just run down. Like odds and ends of buildings stacked on top of each other. But not hundreds of years old.

But the sky - it was so _blue_ \- and crisp, and the clouds seemed so _white_ in contrast to the buildings ahead of them. Noctis would have to really focus on seeing the positive in all this. Gladio knocked him out of staring when his duffel bag hit the ground beside Noctis.

Noctis scowled and grabbed his bag, backpack already slung over his shoulder, and they walked across the street. Immediately he was overwhelmed by the sights and smells he had only gotten a small taste of from the parking lot - vendors with carts selling food, people gathered around talking, laughing, drinking. There was noise _everywhere_. In his apartment back in Insomnia he had grown so used to the quiet of being high above the city. He hoped the windows in their hotel were soundproof.

Ignis led them down several winding paths and ya, the streets were definitely way too small for cars. Insomnia was also old - probably older than this place, when one got down to it, but it had developed and evolved with the times. This place still looked like it was stuck in the past- a more recent past, but still the past.

“Lestallum is actually considered a protected city by historians,” Ignis pointed out to one building as they passed it. “You’ll see some of these buildings have the year they were built carved into them.”

“Wild.” Noctis meant it. Insomnia didn't keep things like this. It was kinda cool.

They entered a courtyard with a nice big fountain in the center. The sound of the water almost drowned out the commotion of the city. Almost.

“Here we are,” Gladio clapped Noctis on the shoulder, “home sweet home.”

Noctis followed his gaze - there was a building that had the sign _Leville_ in a font that screamed dollar store chic. It looked like one of the motels on the sides of the road in outer Insomnia, the kind that truckers stayed in or people on road trips. Just a few missing windows shy of looking like a murder hotel.

“That’s where we are staying”? Noctis gripped the strap of his backpack.

“Yup, haven't been here in years. Still looks the same.” Gladio stepped ahead and he and Ignis walked up the few steps into the lobby and towards the check-in counters.

Noctis trailed behind, still taking in the look. The lobby was a little better - it was almost the opposite of what the outside looked like. Red carpet and gilded stairs, beautiful trees and flowers in the center. Dark wood.

It helped him feel a little more at home.

“This way.” Ignis stepped away from the counter and directed him up the stairs. “We have a suite, which has a shared living room, and two rooms on either side,” he handed Noctis two keys, “one room has a king size bed, that can be yours. You’ll need both on you at all times.”

Noctis took the keys and stared at them. They were literally _keys_. They seemed about as old as the city, with dark spots that looked like rust that had been cleaned off. This place was getting weirder by the minute.

After ascending two flights of stairs, they walked down a long hallway with more red carpet and low-lit lamps that gave everything a weirdly eerie look; like something out of a horror movie.

He really shouldn't think about that.

They got to the end of the hallway. Ignis opened the double doors with his key, and stood with the doors open while Noctis and Gladio stepped inside.

The living room wasn’t the _worst_ thing in the world - it appeared clean at least. There was a decent TV, a small kitchen area, and two large couches. A small table was in the corner, and he could see a balcony barely hidden by the pale curtains.

It didn’t have the same polish as the lobby though. The furniture was worn, there were scuffs on some of the walls, and spots of the carpet were definitely darker than others. When he looked over to the others, Ignis was clearly studying the room as well. Ignis’s jaw was clenched, lips pressed tight like he always did when he was thinking of a solution to something.

A wave of guilt came over Noctis; he wasn’t the only one who had been displaced, or was worried about family. “Thanks, both of you, for uh, doing this.”

“No need to thank me,” Ignis waved him off. He stepped to the right and opened the door there. “Ah, this is ours, Gladio.”

Noctis stepped in the other direction and opened a door to reveal a smaller room. There was the bed, huge, which he liked, and a TV and desk. He also had his own bathroom. Everything was at about the same level of polish as the living room.

He tossed his bags on the bed - some squeaky sounds told him this was a spring mattress, and he was instantly thinking about his bed back home. The soft bedding he could just sink into at any time of day.

With trepidation he turned and sat on the edge of the bed, and then fell backwards with his arms outstretched. It was almost _too_ soft - he sank in more than he knew he should have. At least it wasn’t rock hard.

He pushed himself up onto his elbows. There was a patio door, so he stepped over and opened the curtains to see the view was of the courtyard they passed on the way in. It was a huge difference from his apartment that gave him a view of so much of Insomnia.

And now this was his home, for who knew how long.

Before the weight of it all could sink in, Noctis pulled out his phone and sent a quick text to his dad, letting him know he had arrived safely. Their phones were secure, but he had still been told not to say anything he didn’t need to, just in case. Noctis really wanted to talk to his dad, but when he didn’t get a text right away, he figured that meant he was busy.

Noctis wasn’t sure what to really...do. He’d never been without an agenda, without plans. He opened the patio door and it was...strange. The sounds of the city were muted, distant sounds of people and cars from the highway in the distance. With the sun setting behind buildings, he felt a soft breeze wrap around him and flutter the curtains of the balcony door.

This could be a chance to slow down a little. But he had only known his life in the Citadel, and wasn’t sure if he would like anything else.

“Noct!” Ignis shouted from the living room. “I’m going to order room service.”

Noctis’s stomach grumbled at the thought of food, so he pushed off the railing and went back inside.

“Please tell me they have wine.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The silence of the room was deafening. Maybe Noctis would invest in some sort of white noise app in the morning. But he was too tired to try to deal with that now. 
> 
> He grabbed one of the longer hotel pillows and clung to it with his legs and arms and burrowed his head into it.

A door shutting stirred Noctis from his sleep. He was tangled up in rough sheets, head buried in a pile of pillows because one was too soft.

Noctis rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling as he battled with his morning brain on where the hell he was.

“Oh ya, Lestallum,” he muttered and sighed. He covered his eyes with a forearm and let out another breath. He may have had a little too much cheap wine the night before as the reality of things had started to sink in; that he was stuck hiding in this podunk town.

All things considered, Noctis understood _why_ they had to leave Insomnia. There was a lot at stake and dangerous shit going on back home. He got it. But still, it sucked. Being away from his home, his dad. Being unable to do anything to help. It was like he was a child who couldn’t be trusted.

There was also the whole bit of Noctis having never stayed anywhere that wasn’t the Citadel save the times Gladio dragged them all out camping. And that was always for a night, maybe a weekend if his dad felt like he could skirt meetings.

His stomach made a mix of sounds to signify it was time for breakfast. Noctis sat up and fluffed his hair with both hands, then yawned. He threw on a shirt and pulled on his sweats he had left on the floor the night before, and opened his door into the living room. He wasn’t ready to look at his bathroom yet - the night before when he had finally looked inside, he had wanted to leave, with its dirty walls and a tub that looked like something from the last century.

There were no lights on.

“Hello?” Noctis shouted as he walked towards the other side where the large desk was. It was there he saw a note.

Two, actually.

_Gone to the gym. Be back after ~ Gladio_

_Going to the market to do some shopping, breakfast is on the counter. ~ Ignis_

He turned towards the kitchen and saw a plate of croissants, fruit, yogurt, and chocolate cereal.

Jackpot.

He put the yogurt in one of the bowls from the cupboard, poured a large helping of cereal over it, then shoved a croissant into his mouth and plodded over to the couch. He flipped on the TV and got comfortable as he ate his breakfast and channel surfed.

The news was a bad idea. Lots of talk about the war across the ocean, rumors about spies within Insomnia. Some weird disease spreading in rural parts of Niflheim.

He hit the channel button until he got to cartoons. It did remind him though to check his phone. Noctis set his bowl down on the coffee table and hopped up, grabbing his phone off the nightstand next to his bed.

No new text messages.

He cleared his throat and pushed back on the anxious churn threatening to come up. His dad was just busy, that was all. Busy trying to protect an entire country. The parliament had been rabid for his attention before, and now they were like vultures probably.

Noctis sent one more text for good measure though. Just to say good morning.

He went back to focusing on cartoons, but he couldn't stay there for long. He kept looking through his phone, through all the social media that he wasn’t updating, his email. His texts.

Gladio wouldn't be on his phone, and Ignis was probably lost in a sea of new and exciting flavors.

There was one more person he could reach out to. He pulled up his messages to Luna. The last time they had spoken had been weeks ago, and sure, Noctis felt bad but if there was anyone who would understand, it would be her.

_Hey hey, long time no talk. How’s it going?_

He set his phone face down, but kept the sound on. He finished his croissant and cereal. It wasn't until he was in the kitchen putting dishes in the sink his phone pinged. He forced himself not to run - not like there was anyone who would see him if he did but - he finished up and walked casually to the couch and picked up the phone.

_Hello! Yes, it has been some time. I heard from mother you’re out of Insomnia._

It was a relief, in a weird way, to see a reply from Luna. She was basically his closest friend, at least after Ignis and Gladio. And she understood a lot of the things Noctis had to deal with.

_Ya. It’s. You know. It’s alright. Just weird. I wish I could help somehow._

_Your father knows best I'm sure. I’m between some council meetings right now, are you perhaps free tonight for a call?_

_Ya, sure._

_Excellent. Talk to you then, Noctis._

Noctis sighed. He turned the TV off and wandered back into his room. The silence made him uneasy. He was so used to people around him at all times. Even if they weren’t interacting with him, there was always someone around, something happening. A low drum of voices chatting or the sounds of the city or _something_.

Despite the condition of the bathroom he decided a shower could help. He blasted music off his phone to help distract. At least there was a shower attachment and he wasn’t stuck just doing baths.

He was in such a weird funk - like he was on the edge of either breaking down or yelling at someone and he couldn’t figure out what was causing it. And it was only the first full day of being in Lestallum - how long would he have to make this work? By the time he stepped out of the shower, the steam was thick in the bathroom. He got into the hotel-provided scratchy bathrobe and brushed his teeth.

He assumed someone would be back by now. But when he peeked out of his room, it was still quiet.

“Hello?”

No one responded to him. He got dressed into a pair of comfy cargo pants and sweater, pulled on his sneakers, and stepped out onto his balcony.

It felt like it had been hours since he woke up. But his phone politely informed him it was not even eleven. The sun was almost in the center of the sky - not a cloud to be seen as he scanned above the buildings. It was definitely going to be warm. He stepped back into his room and pulled off the baggy sweater, opting instead for a soft long black t-shirt.

He grabbed the pair of sunglasses he had brought, a snapback, his phone, wallet, and shoved the hotel room keys into his pocket. He left his own message below the one from Gladio and Ignis.

_Took a walk. ~ N_

It felt silly to leave notes on paper, but he was going to follow his advisor’s lead - phones could easily be tapped, tracked, hacked. That was probably Ignis’s line of thinking.

He opened the door and scanned the hallway. It was so... Quiet. It was eerie to him. He closed the door behind him and let out a breath. It was silly to feel unsure about walking around a town alone. He was an adult. A prince. He could do it.

He took one step. Then another, until he was walking down the red carpeted stairs and into the lobby. No one paid him any attention as he walked through. No one shouted his name, asked to speak with him, or bowed their head to him.

Noctis wasn’t sure how he felt about it all, to be honest. He liked his life back home. He had his routine set. He had it pretty good. Being here felt so alien. He stepped outside; hands shoved in his pants pockets.

Kids ran around the fountain. Two men sat on the bench, chatting. Noctis walked past them, and they didn’t bat an eye. He was truly invisible here, not someone of note. He walked through narrow alleys, listening to the sounds of the city around him. He could hear people in their apartments cooking, tv shows running, children shouting. He eventually found his way to an open area that was packed full of stalls.

It had to be the marketplace. Noctis didn’t see Ignis immediately, so he walked slowly and deliberately. The smells were almost overwhelming, and the wares were varied. It had the vibe of a farmer’s market back home. But instead of being interested in what these people were selling, and getting to learn about them and their family recipes or heirlooms, Noctis began to feel trapped. The people around him were getting too close, it was getting louder and louder, the smells stronger and stronger.

He pushed himself to the end of just the first section. It felt like that had taken him hours to get through. He leaned against a bare wall to catch his breath. He needed a drink, something to help him cool off and calm down. There was a vendor on the corner selling bottles of water - he managed to have a few coins to purchase one and began chugging as he walked into an alleyway to get away from the noise when -

Someone ran into his shoulder. The force of it caught him off guard and sent him spinning, and sent his bottle to the ground.

“Hey!” Noctis whirled around.

A man towered over him. He seemed to take up as much space as possible with his very being, from his oversized hat to his ridiculous long coat and - how the hell was he wearing that in the heat anyways? - never mind that it looked like the worst cobbled together outfit from the closets of multiple deceased grandpas.

“My apologies,” the man bowed his head. “I wasn’t paying attention.”

“Clearly!” Noctis tried to quell his anger. Ignis would get pissed if he drew attention to himself.

“Here, let me give you what that was worth,” he started to go through his wallet and pulled out a handful of change. “Will this cover?”

Noctis suddenly felt awkward taking money from someone for just a bottle of water. “Ya, that’s...fine. Uh, thanks.” He didn't need the money, but he also was kinda irritated. He turned but then the man tapped him on the shoulder.

“Ah, wait. Perhaps, there’s something else I can offer as well?”

Noctis really wasn't in the mood to deal with creepy old guys in the market. “Look, the money is fine, okay? It’s just water.”

“No, no, please,” the man stepped in closer, and with a flick of his wrist, held out a business card. “Just go to this site, and enter the password written on the card. You’ll be well taken care of.”

“What…?” Noctis reached out without thinking and took the card. It read _Aeternum Industries_. It gave no indication on what it was for. When he flipped it over, written in bold black ink was the word _adagium._

Noctis looked up to ask the weirdo what the hell he was supposed to do, but he was gone.

He spun in circles a little, but the stranger was nowhere to be seen. The brief reprieve from the suffocating market faded and he felt fear creeping up his spine once more.

Checking his phone informed him that he hadn’t been away for hours like he had thought. It had only been about an hour.

“Fuck.” Noctis shoved his phone in his pocket and headed back to the hotel. He didn’t bother with replacing his water, he would just have some in his room. He stepped away from the market, away from the noise and the people, relishing in how the sounds drowned away behind the buildings.

Something about this place made him uneasy. He grew up in a city much bigger than this, so why was he feeling so trapped in a small town?

By some stroke of luck he managed to not get lost in the winding small streets and alleys. Walking into his room he nearly fell to his knees to kiss the carpet - but thought better when he remembered the...conditions.

No point in adding ‘getting some weird bacterial disease’ to the list of reasons things sucked.

He peeked out into the living room and could hear the shower running in the other room, meaning Gladio had probably returned. But no Ignis to be seen yet. Noctis stood there, torn between hanging out in the living room, or in his room. The reality was he felt...wiped out. Just from being around so many people. So, he grabbed a soda from the fridge and a bag of chips, and retired into his room.

He felt restless, which wasn't like him. Usually he was either busy until he passed out at night or he had other people around him, other things to keep him moving. Even though the town was thriving and booming with people it felt like he was moving in slow motion in comparison with no direction, no purpose. And he really wasn’t used to that.

So Noctis decided to treat himself and play some video games. He got his laptop set up on the desk in his room, and loaded up the latest Assassin’s Creed - pretending he was running around ancient Solheim was way more exciting than being stuck alone in a hotel room.

He blasted the sound in the hope Gladio would know he was home and come in to talk. Or that when Ignis got home he would do the same. He did close his door almost all the way, but that was also to not seem rude.

His focus was hardly on the game - he kept listening for Gladio, or Ignis, or his phone to go off. After about an hour he gave up and collapsed face first on the bed. He left the game on though, so the soundtrack played and gave him some familiarity.

“You been sleepin’ all day or what?” Gladio said as he opened the door.

Noctis peeked out with one eye. “Maybe.”

“Really?”

Noctis rolled onto his back. Gladio stood in the doorway, looking more concerned than anything else.

“I went for a walk and got tired. It’s hot.” He didn’t want to mention the market, or the stranger he met. He didn’t want Gladio to worry about him on the first day.

Gladio studied him a moment before he relaxed. “Iggy’s bringing back lunch if you’re hungry.”

“Sure, sounds good.”

They were silent for a few seconds before Gladio cleared his throat. “I’ll, uh.”

“Ya, I’ll be out soon.”

Gladio nodded and closed the door. Once more Noctis reached for his phone, like a lifeline in this place, and he stretched out on the bed to pass some time browsing videos until Ignis came back. 

* * *

He didn’t realize he’d fallen asleep until his phone vibrated in his hand. Noctis blinked his eyes open - it was dark in the room. His door was still closed, so he didn’t know if Ignis or Gladio had tried to wake him up. His brain was foggy as he looked at his phone screen. Luna had texted him.

_Hope you are all well, Noctis! I am ready to chat whenever you are._

If there was one person in the world Noctis didn’t want to offend, it was her. They had said they would talk that night, so despite just wanting to fall back to sleep Noctis pushed himself to sit up. He forced himself off the phone and out onto the balcony where hopefully the outside air would help wake him up. He hit call on her contact.

“Noctis, hello.”

“Hey Luna, it's’ good to hear you.” And he wasn't lying.

“Are you alright?”

There wasn’t an easy way to answer that - there was a darkness creeping up behind him and he was almost too afraid to look behind him, and addressing it might just make him have to face it.

He swallowed. “It's just. Weird, you know? I don't think we know what to do or how to act here.”

“You'll figure it out, and it's not forever.”

“I guess,” he sighed and tilted his chin to look up at the dark sky, at the sprinkle of stars breaking through the light pollution of Lestallum. “I just wish I could do more than hide.”

“You’re not hiding.” He could hear Luna’s smile and it made him feel a little better. “You’re ensuring that energy is being put into saving Insomnia.”

“Ya, I guess. How are you?”

“About the same, of course.”

Luna had been stuck in her palace in Tenebrae because of a civil war brewing in her own country. They were mostly safe, it seemed, for now. But it was another hit of worry to Noctis that his friend wasn't safe. And a reminder that there was shit going on everywhere.

An overwhelming wave of nervousness crashed over him, and he had to close his eyes to stave off the panic in his chest.

“Noctis?”

“Huh?”

Luna laughed. “You’re falling asleep, aren’t you?”

“Mm.”

“Go to sleep. It's been a long couple of days I am sure.”

“Mm’k.”

“We can catch up properly another time?”

“Ya, sure.” He should talk to her more, make sure she’s okay, he knew that. But he felt all he was good for was to be a downer, and a reminder of their situation. Luna was always so much better at staying positive, and at keeping her chin held high.

“Night, Luna.”

“Good night, Noctis.”

He hung up and went back inside, closing the door and pulling the curtains shut. He brushed his teeth, splashed some water on his face and then undressed into just his boxers. It was only around eight, and his stomach was twisting a bit from hunger - but Noctis found he didn’t care.

He flicked off the light and curled up under the covers.

The silence of the room was deafening. Maybe he would invest in some sort of white noise app in the morning. But he was too tired to try to deal with that now.

He grabbed one of the longer hotel pillows and clung to it with his legs and arms and burrowed his head into it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Based on your assessment, we believe your best companion would be N-iP01357._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot of the content for the website was inspired by the [Westworld canon website](https://discoverwestworld.com)

Noctis had lived a pretty solid, good life. He had never been depressed, sick, had any major injuries.

As the days passed though, Noctis couldn’t stop the feeling clouding his mind. He had a harder and harder time getting up in the mornings. His appetite was off, and his attention span was really short. He hadn’t even been able to really play King’s Knight aside from his daily quests, and some days that was even a chore. He didn’t go back to the market again, and in general stopped leaving the hotel at all.

Ignis and Gladio did their best to try to help, he knew it. But they had their own things to deal with too, out in the middle of nowhere. Gladio was getting updates from his dad and the Marshal about the movement of the Empire, while Ignis kept on top of the work going on at home around things not related to the potential threat looming on the other side of the ocean. Evenings would be spent getting Noctis up to speed - but each night it weighed more and more on Noctis’s shoulders.

Ignis stopped inviting Noctis out for food at some point, though the days all started to blend together. Each day was just marked by the dark circles under his eyes despite how much he slept, and the deepening of the lines of worry on Ignis and Gladio’s faces. A part of Noctis wished they would force him to go out - but Noctis was an adult, they couldn’t make him do anything, realistically.

His only other contact had been with his dad, through short texts mostly to make sure the other was not in danger. He hadn’t even talked to Luna again.

Time felt irrelevant.

Then Noctis woke one day and saw that it had been only a week - which felt like a lifetime and no time at all, all in one fell swoop.

HIs routine became listening at the door for the sounds of anyone before opening. It was after lunch, and he could hear the TV on. Noctis debated - was he in the mood to play at socializing, to face their looks?

Releasing the doorknob, Noctis backed away. His laptop was on the desk and still open from his attempt at gaming the night before. Noctis rubbed his face. He felt - like he couldn’t keep doing _this_. Whatever this was. He went into the bathroom and washed his face, brushed his teeth. He looked like shit - when was the last time he’d done anything to take care of himself? It felt like years ago.

He took a shower, and opted to get into actual clothes instead of roaming the room in his sweats. His cargo pants were readily available, so he pulled those on and got a comfy sweater on, and opened the curtains. The sun shone over the courtyard, and once again the sky was blue without a cloud.

Something about the sameness of it all, really got to Noctis.

But he wanted to push through this. He opened the patio door and forced himself to go outside for the first time since he went to the market. He took in a deep breath, and shoved his hands in his pockets -

In his right his fingers hit paper.

He pulled it out and saw the words _Aeternum Industries_ and it all came crashing back - the weird guy in the market, the business card, the creepiness…

He played with the edges of the card. Then went back inside and straight to his laptop.

A quick web search pulled up a weird, crisp website. The upper right corner had a menu of options including a product page.

Moving right to products, Noctis was met with still more questions. All he saw was a page of…people. It was all very strange. There were numbers under the photos, not names, and headshots taken against stark white backgrounds. The men were topless and in nude briefs and the women all wore nude colored tank tops and underwear.

Noctis fidgeted in his chair. Was this a porn site? What the fuck was this?

He scrolled through the page, more and more faces appeared. He took a breath, held it, and clicked on a random one just to see where it took him.

The site listed information - height, chest size, waist, eye color. Hair. Clicking on an arrow showed a gallery of photos of the person. Mostly different angles of them standing still just in underwear. Other bits of information included specialties like hobbies, personality type, quirks.

They were good photographs; almost artsy, if a little sterile.

Noctis backed out and was back on the gallery page. He moved up to the About link and clicked. If this was a porn site he needed to know so he could exit immediately because the last thing he needed was one, to have his security find out he looked at porn and two, to get a virus in his laptop because that would be annoying as hell.

The About page was still in that sterile white aesthetic, with a dark gradient box of text.

_Aeternum Industries has become synonymous with all the promise artificial intelligence has to offer. Utilizing a precise combination of practical mechanics and boundless imagination, our industry-leading innovations advanced the industry light-years past the standard, transforming the way we think about life and work on Eos and beyond._

“Artificial intelligence?” Noctis sat back.

Androids weren’t unheard of. Some pockets of countries had been doing more and more research into artificial life and all that. Lucis just wasn’t one of them focusing on it. They had more pressing things to worry about. Their technology was fine, just didn't have a use for androids. Not as far as he had seen.

But the idea of having someone else to maybe hang out with, who was tailored to fit exactly what he wanted...

Noctis laughed at himself and closed the window. He would distract himself with games until Ignis or Gladio finally showed themselves.

About an hour into the game, Noctis was still distracted. His eyes kept flitting over to the business card on the desk. The silence around him felt heavy even after he tried to put headphones on to surround himself with noise. He closed the game with a sigh and pulled up the internet browser again.

Within seconds he was back on the site, once more browsing through the faces. He didn't trust the quiz thing - plus Ignis had once told him that was how people stole information for passwords.

But as Noctis went through the headshots, he started to feel like they all blurred together. He decided to at least take a look at the quiz and see if that could help. The second he hit a question that seemed like a way to get data he would exit.

There was a link labeled Prospective Buyer Evaluation, which Noctis clicked on.

_In order to ensure your experience is truly transformative, we'd like to know more about you. Please take a moment to complete a brief assessment. Your answers will be kept in strict confidence._

Noctis tugged at a strand of hair and stared at the _continue_ button. He hit the button. The first few questions were about his health, pre-existing conditions and mental health and whatnot. That seemed tame, so he pushed on.

The questions continued to be more boring in nature - what kind of animal best described him, his ideal kind of vacation, favorite hobbies, kinds of movies. The ticker showed there were twenty questions, and so far, Noctis wasn’t entirely sure of the whole point.

He hit the arrow for the next question.

_There is one true love for everyone._

Noctis paused with the pointer hovering over the statement. He wasn’t sure what he really believed. His mom had died when he was young, Gladio’s mom did as well. His experience with romance in a teenage sense was zilch. But did he like the idea of true love? Sure, who wouldn’t.

He clicked on _True._

The last question popped up.

_You were in an accident, and there is nothing of you left in the wreckage. You planned ahead and had your entire anatomy measured and mapped, and all of your memories logged and saved. An exact replica is constructed from all this information – will this person be you?_

“What the fuck,” Noctis squinted at the screen. He wasn’t in the mood for philosophical debates with himself. He clicked on _Yes_ just to finish the survey.

He hit submit, and the website hung as it processed everything. Noctis looked over his shoulder. There was no reason for Ignis or Gladio to come in, but something about this settled weirdly in his gut.

The site loaded to a new page.

_Based on your individuation assessment, we believe your best companion would be N-iP01357._

Then images loaded.

Noctis studied the face looking back at him. Messy blond hair hung around a slim face. His eyes were slightly closed, but he could see the interesting hue of blue that looked almost purple with however they had filtered the photo. Overall, he looked entirely human.

Clicking on the More tab, he was shown a full body picture. The stats listed things that were a little less generic like game geek, and really that was the biggest win for Noctis. He squirmed a little as he started to feel like this _was_ something like looking for a lovebot.

He sipped the last of his soda and clicked for more photos. N-iP01357 was lithe, and the photos had him smiling, being a little goofy. Noctis thought back to how he had spent the last few days, and when the last time he laughed was.

It was almost like selecting a character for a game. Noctis looked at the card and flipped it over to see that word _adagium_ again. Maybe a discount code?

Going through the checkout process he kept telling himself this was silly, that he wouldn't get a person and that he was wasting his time. But there was another part of him now entirely too curious to not try to see what would happen.

But when he saw the price, Noctis laughed. He was a prince and all, but he definitely wasn’t going to spend that much money on something he had no idea of how it worked.

But then he saw the word under the total - discount code.

Humming to himself, he entered _adagium_.

The cost went to _zero_.

“No way.” Noctis blinked a few times. He looked behind him - the door was still barely ajar. He thought he could hear the TV on. He bit the inside of his cheek and looked back to the screen.

They were going to be stuck in this place for a while, so why not get a little adventurous to pass the time?

He quickly filled out the information for shipping to the hotel. He put the name that he knew Ignis had registered the room under instead of any of their official names.

He hovered over the ‘buy now’ button. What was the worst that could happen? He got a fun toy to tinker around with while they were stuck here. He had always wanted to check out some of the android tech of Niflheim. Seemed like a good time to try.

So, he did it.

As the transaction went through, he got a pop up saying thank you and that N-iP01357 would arrive soon. Noctis felt that buzzing energy coming back, threatening to make him fuzzy again. So he closed the laptop and collapsed on the bed, sighing as he quickly dozed off.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Thank you for choosing Aeternum Industries. We hope you find everything you were looking for. The unit’s mouth has a sensor that detects body heat from your lips, and will register you as the sole owner of the unit._

The hotel phone on the nightstand rang so fucking loud it made Noctis shoot out of bed and fall over as he tried to get to it.

“Hello?” He coughed and cleared his throat and scrambled back up onto the bed.

“Hello, is this Mister Gar?”

He blinked. “Oh,” it took him a beat to remember his fake name while traveling. “Ya?”

“We have a package for you.”

“Huh?”

“It’s quite large, would you like us to bring it up to your room?”

Noctis still had basically no idea what was going on. “Sure,” he hung up and fell back onto the mountain of pillows. He was sure Ignis or Gladio were still in and would help.

He had almost passed out again when he heard knocking at the door. Constantly.

“Ghaaaaa.” That meant the others were already out. Noctis threw on his sweatpants and walked out into the living room. The other door was open, but it was clear he was alone. Great. He opened the door.

All he saw at first was a box. “What the f---” A big fucking box. It was taller than him and almost taller than the door. A bellhop peeked out from behind the box.

“Here you go, Mister Gar.” He held out a clipboard, which Noctis signed with a few scribbles. “Shall I bring it in?”

“Uh, ya. Sure.” He backed up and held the door open. The bellhop used a dolly to bring it in and Noctis thankfully was awake enough to realized that wherever it was dropped was where it would stay -

“Oh, can you put it in that room?”

“Of course, sir.”

Nervous energy ran through Noctis until the bellhop was out of the suite and the door was closed. Noctis slid into his room and slammed the door shut, and locked it for good measure. The box had been laid horizontally instead of up, which had the benefit of being easier to open but the downside of taking up a ton of space in his small room. Noctis stared down at the box, finally getting to look at the shipping label.

The shipping address said it was from _Aeternum Industries_ , with an address out in the middle of nowhere here in Lucis. But the name - it was the name on the business card from yesterday.

Noctis blinked. There was no way they had already gotten his order and shipped it.

He materialized a dagger from the armiger and used it to slowly cut the box tape. The inner Ignis voice, the one that sometimes got loud enough for him to pause, was yelling that this could be dangerous. So Noctis stretched away from the box as he used the dagger to push the flaps open.

When nothing exploded, Noctis leaned over to inspect inside. All he could see was another container, but this one looked like a pod, or a really weird sci-fi coffin. He huffed. Running his hands along the sides of the thing he couldn’t find any sort of button or latch.

Sitting back in frustration, he saw a small window in the front covered by a piece of cardboard. Noctis took up his dagger again, and used it to lift the flap.

He pulled back and gasped as he fell onto his ass.

Knowing what he had ordered didn't change what he saw. There was a person - okay what looked like a person - inside the box. Noctis got on his hands and knees and peered over it again. The...not person...looked like he was just sleeping. But he certainly was the unit he had picked out on the website.

Noctis grabbed his dagger and sliced the other sides of the box to lay on the floor, so he could better inspect the whole thing.

He finally found a small latch on the side and hit it. The top of the container hissed and opened on its own like it was on hinges.

Noctis swallowed hard. The...guy...android...hadn’t stirred. He just lay there, hands at his sides, in simple black boxer briefs. At least they had some decency.

Noctis looked him over. He was definitely the one Noctis had picked out on the site. Blond sandy hair framed his face. His form was lean. On his right wrist Noctis could see a barcode tattoo.

With a shaky hand, Noctis tentatively reached out and poked its hand and backed away again. There was no movement. He picked up the hand - the skin felt real, not synthetic.

“Wild…” There were even hairs on the arms, soft blond hairs. Did someone individually plug those in? He turned the hand to look close at the tattoo on the top of the wrist. It was the same as what the unit had been called, N-iP01357 .

Gently Noctis placed the hand back down. He sat back.

“What am I gonna do?”

He couldn’t see a manual or anything that would give him any sort of clue of what he was supposed to do. With a groan of frustration, Noctis hit the button on the top and it moved again to close around the body. He took the piece of cardboard and put it back over the small window. It was way too weird to see something that looked like a person inside.

Noctis stood and took a few steps backwards and crossed his arms over his chest. “Iggy’s gonna fucking kill me.”

There wasn’t anything he could do right then, so he decided to distract himself by doing everything he could outside of the room. He got into a pair of compression shorts and gym shorts, threw on a tank and grabbed his running shoes. He could lose some time on the treadmill blasting some loud music or watching trash tv, something, anything to not worry about what the hell he was supposed to do now that he had apparently ordered some kind of _naked love bot_.

Noctis looked down at the container. At the cardboard covering what he knew was the sleeping - -turned off? - face.

“Fuck,” Noctis whispered. He walked out and closed the door behind him. Then left the living room. He followed the signs to the gym and braced himself.

Gladio was in there as he suspected, already drenched in sweat, topless, and lifting weights. Noctis caught the way his expression shifted from surprise and concern, to an easy smile.

“Didn’t expect to see you down here,” Gladio dropped the weights to the ground. “You good?”

“Ya,” Noctis said without making eye contact. He didn’t want to make a big deal of this, though he knew Gladio would be telling Ignis as soon as possible that Noctis had emerged outside of the hotel. He wasn’t an idiot; they had been worried about him but had been leaving him alone.

But maybe this was the first step to break out of his funk. Noctis got on the treadmill, and set up his phone so he could watch a livestream. One of the streamers he followed was playing a new RPG he had been thinking of checking out. He was able to quickly get in the zone and not think about the pain in his legs or lungs, or the giant box upstairs in his room.

“See you,” he heard Gladio shout after some time. He lifted a hand to show he heard. He tried not to panic that Gladio was going up to their room. Gladio didn’t have a key to his room, as far as he knew, and they didn't snoop; Gladio and Ignis always respected Noctis’s privacy and had no reason to go in there.

So, he focused on finishing his workout.

After an hour and feeling like he wanted to die, Noctis made his way back up. When he opened the door, he paused. Listening to see if he could sort out who was home.

“Hello?”

“Ah, Noct,” Ignis popped out of their room, dressed in a soft t-shirt and loose linen pants. “I was just suggesting to Gladio we should go grab some lunch. The weather is a bit cooler today.”

It was asked in a careful way. Like Noctis was a stray cat and Ignis was offering him food.

“Oh, sure, just let me uh. Shower and stuff. That cool?”

“Of course.” Ignis walked to the couch and sat, taking the remote and turning the TV on. Noctis blinked. He had never seen Ignis look so comfortable. But then again, they had never lived together. They had been around each other a lot, sure, but he always saw Ignis when he was in advisor mode more than anything. Not in the comfort of his home.

Getting into his room, Noctis almost shouted in surprise because _oh ya_ , there was a big box in the middle of it. He closed the door slowly and let out a long breath. He tried not to look at it as he walked by and got in the shower.

But it was also all he could think about. This person, this android? Did it know he was there? Was it sleeping? Would it need. Like. Food? Could he hide it in his room?

Noctis also realized how creepy that sounded.

He focused on washing up and then drying off after. On blow drying his hair and getting dressed into a pair of comfortable harem pants and a basic soft shirt.

He would get food, and then worry about the elephant in the room.

Or android. Whatever.

Before he left, though, he did lift the cardboard flap off the window. The eyes were still closed. But he did just look like he was sleeping. It seemed weird to think this wasn’t just a human.

“Wild,” he whispered. He dropped the cardboard, and left his room.

“Ready, where are we going?”

Ignis rose off the couch. “There is a place Gladio and I have grown fond of, Tostwell Grill.”

“Their skewers are legit.” Gladio appeared, also freshly showered.

“Sure, sounds good.”

Ignis and Gladio shared a look, and Ignis took a tentative step towards Noct. “Does it?”

“I mean, what’s not to like, it’s meat on a stick.”

“Well there we go,” Gladio clapped Noctis on the shoulder and then opened the door. “Welcome back to the land of the living, Noct.”

“Shut up,” he said as jokingly as he could. Gladio smiled though as he passed him into the hallway, and Noctis returned it.

The urge to dive under the covers of his bed was canceled out by the fear of the android.

As they walked through the town, Gladio and Ignis stayed side by side, with Noctis trailing behind, which was fine. He knew they were less worried about him here, and he wore large sunglasses to help hide his face. Not that anyone would have had any reason to recognize or bother them.

Walking the streets of Lestallum without having to worry about where he was going, Noctis was almost distracted by how crammed everything felt. The buildings weren’t very tall, and yet how they were so close made it feel almost claustrophobic compared to being surrounded by high rise buildings. It was also dirtier, much more so. There were bags of trash piled high in some points. Stray dogs and cats scrounged around, or were sleeping. And no one else seemed to mind.

Noctis tried not to breathe too deep.

They got out to a large courtyard, full of stalls and people sitting around talking with each other as they ate or waited for food.

“Ah, there it is,” Ignis turned back to him, and his expression shifted a little. “Everything alright, Noct?”

“Ya, just hungry.” Which wasn’t a lie. He had worked out and was starving, and this was the most he had moved in a week. “They better have some caffeine”

Ignis looked relieved and laughed. “I'm sure that can be arranged of course.”

They waited in the line, and Ignis ordered for the three of them. Gladio and Noctis took their drinks and found a table in the shade, nestled in a corner of the courtyard.

Ignis walked up with the food balanced on his hands. “This place comes highly rated by the locals, so it was one of the first places we checked out.” He sat and handed out the plates.

Noctis looked down at what Ignis had ordered. “It looks a mess.”

“Appearances can be deceiving,” Gladio said as he shoveled a mouth full and made a sound. “Fuck that’s good, takes me back.”

“Back to where exactly?” He took a tentative bite. The meat was tender, and the sauce was nice, just this side of spicy to taste good and not burn his taste buds.

“This was one of my favorite meals when I was in high school. There was a small shop where I could stop by one the way home.”

Ignis had also taken a bite, and nodded his head as he chewed. “The kebab is as good as the others say. The mix of flavors is quite interesting, combined with the spicy sauce and the cooling vegetables.”

“Meats good,” he mumbled, but Ignis and Gladio were digging into the food and discussing something about some vendors they wanted to visit in the marketplace. So Noctis took out his phone and worked on his daily quests for King’s Knight to pass the time.

Being outside should have made him feel better, but the longer he sat there the more the noise around them annoyed him. The smells of the different foods started to make him feel nauseous, and even with his sunglasses on the sun was so bright.

And the heat made him want to curl up in the shade somewhere.

Noctis chugged his soda, embracing the caffeine and looked around at the courtyard again.

He played a little more King’s Knight and finished his meal. Ignis and Gladio glanced at him.

“Shall we?”

Noctis knew he meant shopping. “You guys go ahead. I think I'm gonna head back.”

Gladio grabbed their plates and got up to toss them. He exchanged a look with Ignis, who then rose. “Take care.”

He waved them off. “You guys too.” They turned and left down another alley. Noctis stretched and got up, hands shoved into his pockets as he made his way back to the hotel slowly. He was surrounded by people wherever he went, and yet he felt. Lonely?

The funk he had hoped to shake off by doing something other than sleeping or watching tv or gaming, it was still there and as he walked it got heavier and heavier, making his steps feel like his body weighed tons.

In front of the hotel Noctis sat at the fountain and tried to rest his mind, letting the calmness of the sound of water wash over him.

Instead it just made him feel even more antsy. But if he went back to his room - that would mean having to face that fucking box.

The heat and that nervous energy bested him, though, and he slowly made his way through the hotel, up the stairs, and towards their room. He could almost hear the horror music playing as he approached - he would open the door, and the android would be standing there in the middle of the room with a butcher knife and an evil smile and --

Noctis paused at the door, hands shaking a little. Welp, he was cutting himself off from true crime going forward.

He opened the door and there was no one in the living room, and the door to his room was closed. He shook off the residual fear making his pulse drum loudly as he went into his room. Nothing had changed - the box was still there.

“Shit,” he sighed and slumped onto his bed. He stared down at the container. “I guess I could. See how you work.”

His curiosity was getting the better of him, in this instance. But it did seem too real to be anything but a human.

He lifted the cardboard off the window and looked again. The guy was still sleeping. Or turned off. Whatever it was.

Noctis swallowed and got off the bed, and walked around to hit the latch to open the container once more. Noctis reached out and poked a freckled cheek.

He saw a bit of paper sticking out from under the container. Of course it would be there. He tugged at the corner, and after much struggle got what was clearly _part_ of a whole manual ripped out into his hand.

“Shit!” he hissed.

Noctis tossed the now ripped manual and tried to get the container to move. But it weighed a ton. There was no way he could move it. He resisted the urge to kick it and got up with the bit of the manual he had and got onto the bed. He was able to at least figure out some parts - but it was a lot of legal shit, the company not responsible for injuries caused, etc. He also couldn't find info on returns, warranties, the kinds of things that would usually come with a purchase like this.

He also wanted to know how to do anything with it. But the pages that clearly gave those instructions were still under the giant box.

He tossed the papers and lid on his stomach, looking down at the body. From this angle, he could see more paper sticking out. It seemed the manual had been opened somehow.

“Jackpot.”

He rolled off the bed and tugged on the paper. And the rest of the manual was in his hands. He sat there, back against the bed, going over the manual.

He looked over the table of contents. “How to activate…” He turned to the page.

_Thank you for choosing Aeternum Industries. We hope you find everything you were looking for. The unit’s mouth has a sensor that detects body heat from your lips, and will register you as the sole owner of the unit._

Noctis wrinkled his nose and looked down at the unit, specifically at his lips. This was getting weirder and weirder by the second. He cleared his throat and kept reading.

_To activate your unit, simply press your lips against its lips._

Noctis took in a breath and cleared his throat. He had no reason to feel embarrassed, it wasn’t like there was anyone in the room to hear him. Or see him…

_Once activated, your unit will wake up and be responsive. The final step is to give the unit a name, which will officially bond it to you._

He gave the unit one more side glance and decided to instead read more of the manual. He assumed there would be information about things like...charging it, or maintenance, but the rest of the manual was more of a list of things it could do.

There was also nothing about how to return it, or what to do if something broke, which felt strange considering how high tech this seemed to be. But even if there was a way to return it, Noctis wasn’t sure he would be able to do it without getting busted.

He thought about trying to do that without getting caught by Ignis or Gladio, and that was the most terrifying.

He didn’t want to make more trouble for Ignis or Gladio. And as far as he could tell there wasn't anything to worry about so far with this thing. Maybe there was more on returning on the website.

Noctis crawled closer to the box and gripped the sides with both hands. He stared down at the unit - he looked so real it was a bit disconcerting. If he didn’t know what was in here, he would have thought he was just a guy.

Okay, so maybe. Maybe this could work out. Maybe Noctis could have a companion while he was stuck in this dumpy town.

But first, Noctis had to...turn it on. He swallowed and scooted up closer to the face. He leaned over and kept his eyes open as he got closer - up this close he could see pores, strands of hair. Freckles. Eyelashes. He breathed out a little and almost expected him to wake up. But the unit didn’t make any movement. Noctis licked his lips.

His palms were sweaty. “Fuck it,” he closed the distance and pressed against the lips of the android, but he didn’t close his eyes. The lips weren’t cold, which was what he expected.

The body under him felt like it was taking a deep inhale - a hand touched the back of his head. Suddenly, he was looking into violet-blue eyes.

Noctis jumped away and fell back with a scream.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “We’ll talk about this more later,” Ignis whispered sternly. 
> 
> Gladio, however, was grinning like an idiot, which was almost worse. “Atta boy.”

Noctis realized Gladio and Ignis were home, because as soon as he had started screaming there was loud banging at his door and the sound of someone trying to get in. He looked down at the android - now awake and sitting up in the box and _fuck!_

“Hey there,” the android said nonchalantly, as if he wasn't just woken up by a kiss in a random ass hotel room and --

“Noct?” Ignis shouted through the door. “What’s going on?”

“Open up or I’m breaking this door down!” Gladio shouted and emphasized with knocks.

“I’m fine! I’m -” he jumped up and looked at the door and then at the android. He held out both hands.

“Just,” he hissed, “don’t say anything.”

“But I need a name.”

“What?” he spun back around. The android stood up and Noctis --

Froze.

He was about Noctis’s height, lean, muscled, toned. Blond hair hung over his eyes a little. He had freckles all over--

“Noct!” Gladio and Ignis shouted in unison and he jumped.

“Shit! I said I’m fine!” He ran his hands through his hair and looked at the android. “Look, just. Can you sit on the bed?”

“Yup!” He stepped out of the box and did so. Noctis slid the box around to the other side of the bed, out of view. He looked at the guy again.

“Can you, uh. Like. cover up?”

He pouted. “Do you not like how I look?”

The door rattled. Noctis blinked. “What? No, I mean I do, like how you look - I just -”

“Is there someone in there? Are you hurt?”

“For Astrals’ sake!” Noctis grabbed the cover and pulled it over the android. Then he got to the door and opened it, just enough so he could poke his head out.

“What!”

Ignis and Gladio weren't even looking at him. They looked over his head.

“Hey there-” a voice sang out from behind.

Noctis winced. Two sets of eyes settled on him.

“Look it’s - I’m-”

“Noct,” Ignis lowered his voice. “You cannot just...it's not wise, to trust strangers.”

“Oh, I’m not a stranger! I’m-”

“That’s right he’s a friend I made here.”

At that, Ignis and Gladio both had different versions of confusion playing across their faces.

“We’ll talk about this more later,” Ignis whispered sternly.

Gladio, however, was grinning like an idiot, which was almost _worse_. “Atta boy.”

“Oh my gods. Can you please just leave me alone.”

“Gladio, do _not_ encourage him.”

“Look, Ignis is right. You gotta be careful.”

“I am.” Noctis did his best to use his neutral face to hide the fear screaming through him. But that admission was enough for them both, since they shared one more look before Gladio turned away.

“We’re ordering pizza for dinner tonight; I’ll expect you both.” Ignis gave no room for argument as he also stepped away.

“Sweet, pizza!” the voice shouted from behind him.

Noctis closed the door, locked it, then spun around, back against the cool wood. The android hadn’t moved from where he sat, the blanket still draped over him.

“Okay. We need...to figure this out. Set rules.”

“I need a name.”

Noctis rubbed his face and then pushed off the door. He wasn’t sure what to do, but he decided to just. Chill. So he sat down on the bed and turned to the android.

“I mean, what do you want to be called?”

It looked confused. “I’ve never thought of that. Until now I was called 01357 for short.”

“Well, what do you like?”

He blinked a few times. Noctis groaned.

“How about Prompto, for now?” It was the name of a video game character, and he was really bad at names.

The android smiled. “Prompto. Thank you, NoctGar.”

He choked. “What?”

“That's the name you gave when you ordered me.”

“Oh uh, you can call me Noct. For short.”

“Oh, like a pet name?” Prompto leaned forward. The sheet dropped off his shoulder.

Noctis leaned away. “Uh, more like. A nickname?”

“Got it.” Prompto winked.

Noctis let out a breath. “Okay, so. First things first, let’s get you dressed.”

Noctis jumped off the bed and went to his closet. Prompto looked about his size, maybe a little smaller, but his stuff should work. He grabbed a shirt and a pair of his harem joggers and turned to hand them to Prompto.

He had stood from the bed, and again being there in just his underwear - Noctis cleared his throat and handed over the clothes.

“Can you, uh...put these on?”

Prompto took them, and set the pants down while he put on the shirt. Noctis watched curiously. He didn't seem like an android at all. His movement, everything about the way he looked. Once Prompto pulled the pants on, he looked up at Noctis and smiled.

“How do I look?” He winked again.

Prompto looked...good. Noctis wasn’t sure what he expected, maybe that he would look strange in his clothes, Prompto looked human, as far as he could tell. “Good, great. Ya. The clothes fit?”

Prompto nodded and hummed, inspecting the clothes. Noctis caught the flash of dark lines on the right wrist - the barcode. He had to hide that. He moved over to his suitcase where some of his stuff still was - in a small box he kept all his favorite bracelets - he grabbed one that looked casual enough for everyday wear, brown leather that wrapped several times.

“Here,” he showed it to Prompto, who’s eyes widened, “wear this.” He stood in front of Prompto and gestured to his right hand. Prompto lifted it obediently and watched as Noctis wrapped the bracelet and secured it.

Prompto stared at it, then pulled his hand close to his heart. When their eyes met, Noctis was taken back by the emotion in Prompto’s face.

“Thank you, Noct.”

“It’s nothing.” He waved his hands. Now that Prompto was dressed it was a little easier to talk to him.

“How about we just hang out here until dinner?”

“Okay!” Prompto hopped onto the bed with a grin and turned on the TV. Prompto seemed like anything _but_ an android. He climbed into the bed next to Prompto, who immediately curled against Noctis, resting his head on his shoulder. He tried not to think too much about it - there was a part of him that did like the presence of a body next to him after all this time.

Noctis did some channel surfing until he landed on a cartoon channel. It wasn’t the most interesting, but it was still something else to focus on as he tried to put together what he was going to do. Pizza would eventually show up, and then they would have to go out there, and he would have to explain this situation to Ignis and Gladio - two people who were probably the least trusting in the world right now.

He needed a cover.

“Wait,” he shifted and Prompto sat up, “do you even eat?”

“Duh, and b-t-dubs, pizza is my fave.”

Noctis stared at him and blinked a few times. “How…”

Prompto shrugged. “I don’t know all the hand wavy science stuff. I just know that I eat, I sleep, I’m just like you, really. Just came from somewhere else.”

“Huh.” That at least solved the issue of Prompto being a dead giveaway as soon as he set foot out in the living room. They kept watching TV, and Prompto seemed perfectly content to be there. Noctis let himself get comfortable, zoning out for a bit.

A few raps at the door stirred Noctis.

“Noct! Pizza is here,” Ignis shouted from the other side of the door.

He looked to the door, then to Prompto. “Okay. Look. Just. Don’t say where you’re from, okay? I'm going to say I met you in town.”

That wasn't necessarily _good,_ but it was probably better than _oh, hey please meet this android I ordered from the internet because a creepy guy ran into me and gave me his business card._

Ya, no way that would fly.

“Sure, I’ll play along,” Prompto chirped. He stepped up to Noctis, and while it was certainly better, he wasn't nearly naked, it was still a lot to take in. Noctis liked personal space. And it was hard for him to think of Prompto as not just another person.

Prompto looked...shy. He bumped their shoulders together. “You know, you could be a bit happy to see me though.”

That caught Noctis off guard. “Huh?”

Prompto sighed, but then smiled and sniffed the air. “Oh that pizza smells so good!”

“Oh shit, ya, the pizza.”

Noctis wasn’t sure what Prompto had meant by what he said, but he couldn't think too much about it. He didn't want to risk Ignis and Gladio breaking down the door. He opened the door, and Prompto fell in right beside him as they stepped out into the living room.

Ignis and Gladio sat on the couch, pizza boxes and beer on the coffee table. It was then Noctis had the horrifying realization that Prompto probably didn’t eat, or drink, and that would be an immediate red flag.

“Uh, hey,” Noctis walked towards them, gesturing to his side. “This is Prompto.”

Prompto waved. “Nice to meet ya!”

Ignis nodded and Gladio waved. “Greetings, Prompto. Please help yourself.”

Noctis tugged at Prompto’s sleeve to have him follow and tried to ignore the chuckle from Gladio. They both grabbed two slices of pizza onto plates.

“You want a drink?” Prompto offered.

“Oh, uh. Sure. Beer is good.” He really needed a drink to get through this meal.

“Got it!” Prompto skipped over to the kitchen area. Noctis focused on his pizza and not the stares he was getting from the other couch. Prompto had grabbed a slice of pizza for himself, and took a big bite just like he was any other person.

Gladio seemed way too excited. “Wow, where’d you find this guy? Shouldn't you be getting _him_ a drink?”

“We met at the market!” Prompto offered as he came back around. He sat purposefully close to Noctis, so they were touching from knees to shoulder, and handed Noctis an open bottle.

When Noctis looked to give his thanks, Prompto -

Prompto kissed him on the nose. “Sure thing, babe.”

Gladio choked on his beer.

Prompto went about eating his pizza and watching TV. Noctis blinked. Ignis and Gladio stared at them both.

Well, so much for trying to keep a low profile. Noctis leaned back and focused on eating his pizza, and watching Prompto closely. Prompto managed some conversation with Ignis about the cooking show that was on, but he zoned out a bit, thoughts lost thinking about what he was going to do. They would certainly be found out soon - Prompto didn't have anywhere else to go. Soon Ignis and Gladio would catch on.

The show ended, and Ignis started to clean up. Prompto hopped up and started helping, and soon was chatting with him quietly. Noctis watched, and then heard a low whisper of _hey._

He turned to Gladio who had moved closer on the couch. He motioned towards the other two.

“What's the deal? Are you crazy? Sneaking someone in? What if I had run into him, I could have pummeled the kid.”

“Shh.”

Prompto was still with Ignis in the kitchen, apparently helping him with the dishes. “It just kinda happened okay? Please be nice, he’s really chill.”

Gladio studied Noctis with a stern expression, “You know I'll have to keep an eye on him. And Ignis will need to run some checks.”

Fear clawed up his throat. “I swear, he’s all good. I did my own digging, I’m not stupid. I even gave him a fake name.”

“I didn’t say you were stupid.”

“Then trust me?”

Gladio worked his jaw. “You know I want to.”

Before Noctis could reply, Prompto and Ignis appeared next to the couches again and stopped the conversation.

“I've some work to do,” Ignis announced. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Prompto.”

“You too!”

“Gonna go read,” Gladio stood and stretched, and followed Ignis.

They didn't close the door, which he knew was on purpose so they could listen for any signs of a problem. Noctis fell back and looked up at the ceiling. Maybe he should call Luna. He could be honest with her and she wouldn’t give him up, and also could maybe give him some advice.

HIs view became suddenly blocked by wide violet blue eyes and blond hair. He managed not to shout.

“What are you -”

Prompto climbed on top of Noctis and lowered himself until he was fully pressed against him. Before Noctis could move, Prompto pressed their lips together.

Noctis gasped, and Prompto took that apparently to mean something good, because then Prompto was kissing deeper. He got caught up in the sensation quickly - the warmth of Prompto’s mouth, his soft lips, the way his tongue just pressed on the edge of his own.

Noctis was freaked out somewhere in the back of his head, but also - it felt nice. Prompto kept kissing slowly. His forearms rested on either side of Noctis’s face. Noctis hadn't moved his hands but he realized maybe...he shouldn’t.

Remembering where they were, Noctis managed to get his hands up to push on Prompto’s chest. He kept pushing and lifted himself up a little. Noctis swallowed - Prompto’s hips were pressing right up against his and fuck, was that…

He had to focus. “Look uh, I think. Like I said before, we need to uh. Set some rules.”

Prompto pouted. “Rules?”

“Ya, like. About. Touching, and stuff.”

Prompto’s gaze moved around Noctis’s face, landing on his lips. “I like touching you.”

Noctis breathed out. “That's. Because you have to, right?”

Prompto shrugged, then smiled. “I do what I want.” He lowered himself down and this time latched onto Noctis’s throat, just under his ear.

Noctis hissed and fell back. Prompto followed. “Shit-”

“You have a room!” Gladio shouted and they both jumped this time. Prompto shot straight up to sitting, still straddling Noctis, who pushed himself up enough to look over the edge of the couch. Gladio was in the doorway, a drink in hand.

“Take a picture!” Noctis sneered to hide his embarrassment. “Come on, Prompto.” He motioned and Prompto hopped up. Noctis rose and headed into his room, with Prompto following. He closed the door, locked it, and let out a long sigh.

In seconds, Prompto was pressed up against his back, hands snaking around Noctis’s waist.

“Hey,” Prompto whispered and nipped at Noctis’s ear while his hands climbed up under his shirt.

“Prompto.” Noctis slid away and stepped backwards as Prompto turned, a confused look on his face. “I’m a bit wiped out, can we just go back to watching something?”

He looked like he was about to argue, but then Prompto put on a smile and nodded. “Ya, sure, whatever you want.”

“Thanks.” Noctis climbed back onto the bed, this time grabbing a pillow and holding onto it for something to keep him from flipping out.

“Here, wait.” Prompto was up on all fours and crawling towards him and Noctis almost panicked. But then Prompto mimicked his position beside him and reached his arms out.

“Huh?”

“Com’ere.”

Noctis hesitated. Prompto tugged on his arm with a shy smile. And so, Noctis made himself relax as Prompto pulled him down so that his head rested on Prompto’s thighs.

“Wh-ooo.” Fingers were instantly in his hair and scratching his scalp lightly. “Oh shit, that feels nice.”

“Good,” Prompto didn't say anything else, and they stayed quiet as they watched tv. Noctis felt the pull of sleep, and found he couldn't say no.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “This is what you wanted, isn't it?” Prompto's voice softened, and sounded hesitant. It made Noctis straighten.

When he opened his eyes again, the soft glow of the rising sun washed through the open window. There was a soft breeze, and the tv was off. The room was peaceful, quiet.

Noctis shifted and realized he was still on Prompto’s leg. He blinked a few times - surely his legs had fallen asleep or he had gotten bored? Or tired?

He rolled so he could look up at Prompto. He was staring down at Noctis, clearly not asleep. He smiled.

“Hey sleepyhead. “The amount of affection in his voice made Noctis’s throat unexpectedly tight.

He cleared it and pushed away to sit. He felt how Prompto’s hand slid down his back.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to fall asleep on you.”

“It was cute.”

Noctis ducked his head and hopped off the bed. “I'm gonna,” he pointed to the bathroom, “and then we can figure out what to do today?” He figured it would be better to be outside, somewhere they could hang out without whatever else sitting just under the surface between them.

“Okay!”

Noctis went into the bathroom. He braced his hands on the counter and looked in the mirror. He wasn't sure, at all, what to do. Prompto wasn't just a person in a bar. He had nowhere else to go. And like...what does he _do_ , when he has to leave him? How will he navigate around the concerns of Ignis and Gladio?

He splashed cold water on his face, used the restroom, and splashed more water on his face.

When he opened the door, he paused. “What…”

Prompto was under the sheets, topless.

He wiggled a little. “Thought we could, ya know, work up an appetite.” He sounded shy, but there was a bubbling of confidence in how he laid there on the bed that made Noctis immediately feel warm.

“Uhm, like. Go for a run? We could run. There's a treadmill-”

“Hmmm,” Prompto exaggerated a thoughtful expression. “I was thinking something a little more interactive.”

Noctis swallowed hard. “I, um. Look,” he wasn't sure why he was so nervous. “I just. Let’s... Ignis and Gladio are here.”

At that, Prompto rolled onto his side and pushed the sheet down so it barely covered him below his hips.

“Prompto, listen-”

“This is what you wanted, isn't it?” Prompto's voice softened, and sounded hesitant. It made Noctis straighten.

“What?”

“I mean, you ordered me, right?”

“I...” Noctis didn't move closer. He didn't entirely trust himself. “...I did.”

“So?” Prompto batted his eyes. “What's the hold up?”

“Wait, is that like, expected to be the first thing people do?”

“Did you even read my file?”

Noctis pressed his lips tight. “I mean, I skimmed.”

“So, don't you like me? Even a little?”

That made Noctis step forward finally. “I like you! Of course. I...I just wasn’t expecting...you.”

His words had the opposite effect though. Prompto looked at the sheet. He shifted onto his back.

“I get it.”

Noctis took another step forward. “Prompto?”

“I get it, I'm not what you wanted, it’s fine. I’ve heard about others being sent back. It's okay.”

“Wait that’s -”

“It's fine. They’ll just. Wipe my memory. Factory reset.” When he laughed it was hollow. “Then we can both just. Go on like this never happened.”

Noctis surged forward and onto the bed, gripping Prompto’s wrist as he started to reach for his pants. “Hey, I never said that's what I wanted.”

“Then what _do_ you want?” Prompto looked up, and it was such an innocent and soft look.

Noctis couldn't speak suddenly. But he opened his mouth anyways.

Prompto looked at his lips, then back up. Noctis moved, he wasn't sure how, until their lips met, soft, slow.

Noctis pulled away. “I just. Want to take things slow.”

Prompto studied him. “Slow.”

“Ya, like. Get to know each other first. All that.”

Prompto looked unsure. “But. You already know me. And I know you. That’s how this works.”

“All I did was fill out some dumb survey and read a few bullet points about what I wanted from you.” Noctis pulled back and off the bed. “That's not what I mean. I want to have conversations. Experience things.”

Prompto still hadn’t moved. “That...sounds nice.”

Noctis smiled. “Come on, get dressed and let’s go look for some grub.”

Prompto nodded, and Noctis turned while he got dressed. When Prompto appeared at his side, he was dressed and that look of uncertainty was gone from his face. Noctis reached over, and their hands fit together, fingers interlacing perfectly.

Noctis squeezed reassuringly, and unlocked the door. The bedroom door across the way was open, but no light was on. The living room had one lamp on, but otherwise it was empty. Noctis saw a note on the fridge and they both walked over.

_Gone to have lunch at Tozus Counter. Please be sure to eat something._

Well, now he knew where to at least avoid if he didn’t want to deal with their questions.

“Ready?” Noctis glanced at Prompto.

“Ya!”

Once outside, a slight breeze offered a break from the heat of the day. Prompto looked around with his mouth slightly open. It was like any other day Noctis had seen - crisp blue skies

“It’s so pretty,” Prompto whispered.

Noctis looked around. He wouldn’t have really given any of this a second look, but he imagined how it was for Prompto. What had he seen before this?

Did he even _know_ a before?

The idea that this could be all Prompto knew sent a sinking feeling once more into his stomach. He walked and pulled Prompto, walking towards the marketplace where he knew there were some food stalls.

“Oh man, that smell.” Prompto inhaled as they got closer to the market. “That smells so good.”

“Ya? You get to pick food.”

“Really?”

“Ya, my treat.”

Even though that part was obvious, Prompto still squeezed Noctis’s hand and skipped a little. “Thanks!”

“Don't mention it.” They entered the marketplace, which was packed with a lunch crowd. Prompto stopped in his tracks.

“Prompto?”

“There's so many people…”

Noctis thought about where Prompto came from, and realized the number of people he had probably ever seen was...small.

“Is this too much?”

Prompto shook his head but still stared out over the market. “No, it's just. Amazing. So many _people_. I never thought I would see something like this.”

“What…” Noctis chewed on his lip. “What did you think you would see?”

Prompto didn't look at him, or give an answer. He kept staring out. “Oh, I want that one!” he pointed in the direction of a kebab place.

Noctis wasn’t dumb. He knew a diversion when he saw one, because he was the master of avoiding feelings. But he would give Prompto this.

“Ya sure, looks great.”

“Woo!” Prompto cheered and lifted their joined hands. He pulled Noctis towards the stall.

He was buzzing with excitement as Noctis ordered two skewers, and two sodas. They took them over to a bench nearby and sat together, feet touching. Noctis wasn't used to being close to someone in public, what with his lack of relationships. But there was comfort in Prompto being there, with a reassuring press of his hands or feet.

Noctis liked it.

They toasted their drinks, laughed, and ate while people-watching. Prompto was genuinely interested, following almost every person with his eyes as they walked by.

“So,” Noctis said between bites. He hoped Prompto might be a bit more open now, sitting here. “What do they tell you? When you uh, leave. Where are you from?”

Prompto took another bite and chewed. “They didn't tell me anything. Until we get shipped out, we’re mostly asleep, except when there’s maintenance and when we get files uploaded.”

“Huh?”

Prompto shrugged. “It’s just all there. When I wake up.” He leaned back against the bench and studied the stick.

“I just _know_ you.”

Noctis leaned on his elbows and looked down at their feet. “But _I_ don't know _you_.”

“Do you need to?”

Noctis turned his head. Prompto was still not looking at him. “Prompto…”

“You don't need to feel sorry for me.”

“I…” He couldn't entirely say he didn't. That wasn't true, Noctis was hit with the fact like a punch to the face.

“I just want to know you, like you know me. Seems only fair.”

Prompto tapped his now bare kabob stick against his thigh. It was a nervous movement. It made Noctis wonder, _really_ wonder, what Prompto was. Androids wouldn't have ticks. Wouldn't feel things like...sadness. Or worry. Or shyness.

_Right?_

“Prompto?”

“Let’s walk around, I want to see more of this place!”

“...Sure.”

Noctis stood and collected their cups, and threw everything away. They walked side by side, and Noctis decided not to comment on how Prompto shoved his hands into the pocket of the hoodie. Noctis hadn’t even seen much past the market, so they wandered the small streets, walking past windows that had music blaring, the smell of food cooking. Then suddenly it opened up and they could see a high fence, and a large building behind it.

“What's that?” Prompto sped forward. Noctis caught up as he was reading a sign posted.

“Huh, the power plant. They use energy mined from the Disc of Cauthess.”

“Wow.” Prompto gripped the fence with both hands. His eyes were wide. “That’s cool. And it looks so...Sci-fi.”

Noctis laughed at the absurdity of an android being in awe at something ‘sci-fi’.

“What about where you’re from?”

Prompto once again shut up. Frustration bubbled under Noctis’s skin - he wanted to get to know Prompto, but he felt like he kept slipping up on how to ask the right questions.

It was confusing and Noctis didn't like it. He preferred to have lines in the sand, to know here he stood with everyone in his life. It was safer that way. But Prompto came in and threw all that out the window.

Prompto was still looking out towards the factory. The blue light made his freckles stand out.

Noctis stepped closer to him. He placed his right hand over Prompto’s left, clinging to the fence as well. He didn't want to push Prompto. But he also wanted him to know it was okay. Usually it was Noctis feeling insecure and having to hide his emotions.

“Wanna head back and watch some trashy tv until we pass out?”

It was like a switch went on for Prompto. He smiled and nudged Noctis’s shoulder. “Is that a euphemism?”

Noctis chuckled. “No, come on.”

“So you saaaay!” Prompto pushed off the fence and made finger guns as he walked backwards.

Noctis rolled his eyes. “You’re a dork.”

“Guilty as charged!” With a salute he spun around and walked away. Noctis could do nothing more than run to meet him. They made their way back in silence, but the underlying conversation, or lack of, still hung in the back of Noctis’s mind.

He was convinced he would get Prompto to talk more about himself.

* * *

They managed to spend the rest of the day wandering around, people watching and sitting in the shade filling up on snacks from the different little vendors. When they finally got back to the hotel, Noctis opened just _his_ door, not the one for the living room, to avoid any more looks. Once inside, Prompto collapsed on the bed with a loud groan.

“Shh,” Noctis stepped over to the door that connected into the living room. He listened, and heard the TV on. He opened the door and peeked out - Ignis and Gladio were on the couch, drinking coffee.

“Night,” Noctis shouted. They both turned and looked at him.

“Turning in?”

“Yup, see you tomorrow.”

“Noct -” Ignis set his coffee down and turned to face him fully, “we should talk soon about your friend.”

“Prompto?”

“Is there anyone else?” Gladio said gruffly.

“No.”

“Yes, we have to talk about your safety. That is the first priority and why we’re here. We can't just let anyone into our inner circle right now.”

“Ya, I get it.”

“The next time he’s over, we will have some questions for him. We have not flagged the guard to look into him yet, but we may have to.”

Noctis’s blood went cold. “I'm sure you won't have to go that far.”

They both exchanged a look.

“Night.” Noctis closed the door and locked it. He rested his head against the cool wood and sighed. Things were about to get dicey.

Prompto had already slid under the covers, clothes tossed onto the floor. Noctis rubbed his face and went into the bathroom to brush his teeth, staring at his reflection in the mirror, reflecting on Prompto being there in his bed. He opted to put on his baggy sweatpants and a shirt, which he would never normally sleep in.

Once he turned out the lights, the tv cast a soft glow across the room and Prompto. He was on his side, facing where Noctis would sleep.

“You sleeping in sweats?” Prompto shifted a little.

“Uh, ya.” He got under the covers.

“You okay?”

“I, uh,” Noctis wasn't sure what to say but, “I just. Didn't know you would sleep.”

Prompto tucked his hands underneath his pillow. Noctis laid on his back to stare at the ceiling instead of Prompto.

A few beats of silence passed.

“You want me to move?”

Noctis closed his eyes. He knew Prompto was watching him. “It's just. This is…” He found he couldn’t say much more. There was guilt lodged inside his throat at the idea of making Prompto feel bad. But that was silly, Prompto was an android. But then he also…

“It’s cool, I get it.”

There was movement as Prompto slid out of the bed. A small voice inside Noctis shouted to stop Prompto. Instead he stayed still, eyes shut as he listened to the sound of the container moving. Of the latch being pulled so it opened.

Noctis slowly opened his eyes when the room had been quiet for some time. He tilted his head to the right, and sure enough, Prompto wasn't there. The sheet had been tossed back.

Noctis rolled away onto his side so he didn't have to look at the empty bed, and closed his eyes.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Noct,” Ignis sighed. “We are just trying to keep you safe.” 
> 
> “I’m safe.” Noctis bit back a groan and looked at his cereal. “He's not dangerous. And I gave him my fake name, so he doesn’t know who I am.” 
> 
> “How do you know that? Do you know much about him?”

Noctis had forgotten to close the curtains, so the sun woke him earlier than he would have liked. He had a weird moment of disorientation. It felt like so much had happened since they had gotten to Lestallum. He also realized he had moved around to hold onto the empty pillow beside him.

He released it slowly. The other side of the bed was still empty. He crawled over to the edge of the bed.

The container was empty.

Noctis’s blood went cold. “Prompto?”

No response. He fumbled out of the bed. Looked down at the container again. The clothes from the day before were still piled up. He went to the balcony - it was empty. The bathroom door was open.

He took in a few breaths. He went to his door, and slowly opened it -

Laughter hit his ears.

“No way, I bet you can't lift that much.” He could hear Gladio from the kitchen.

“I can. You don't know how powerful these guns are.” He could hear Prompto’s voice and Noctis almost sank to the floor in relief.

He slowly moved to the kitchen, feeling shy. Prompto sat on the counter, in a very large sweatshirt that covered halfway down his thighs, even sitting, feet swinging, enjoying a cup of coffee. Gladio stood next to him, and they were both laughing and smiling.

Something new twisted in Noctis’s stomach.

The two looked at Noctis as he appeared.

“You didn't mention Prompto stayed over,” Gladio said with a wink and Noctis wanted to go back to sinking to the floor.

“He wanted to keep me to himself,” Prompto sang, grinning over his cup at Noctis.

“What are you wearing?” He blurted out.

Gladio tugged at the shoulder of Prompto’s sweatshirt. “I came out this morning and he was curled up on the couch with a thin blanket. Said he didn't have spare clothes, so I lent him this.”

“Oh.”

“Where are your manners, huh?” Gladio grinned and finished his own coffee before setting the mug in the sink.

“So?” Gladio looked to Prompto.

“I cannot,” Prompto whined. Noctis raised an eyebrow.

“He wants me to go to the gym with him,” Prompto whined. “But I don't have workout clothes with me.”

“Where’s your place? We can go get some.”

Prompto didn't look at Noctis, but his feet stopped swinging.

“Prompto’s from out of town,” Noctis supplied.

“Oh, what hotel are you staying at?”

“This one,” Noctis said before he could stop himself.

“Ya, but I don't have workout clothes. Didn't think I would need them.”

Gladio nodded a few times. “Noct, you got anything?”

“Uh, sure.”

“Sweet!” Prompto set down his coffee. “Then it's on, big guy!”

Gladio snorted. “You’re a cocky one aren’t you.”

Prompto wiggled his shoulders and hopped off the counter. Noctis couldn't help but stare as Prompto walked to him, in that baggy sweater and his bare legs and -

 _Fuck_ .

He turned and went into his room. Prompto followed, and shut the door. Noctis went into one of the drawers and pulled out some gym shorts.

“Here, I have some shoes too.” He set them on the bed.

“Thanks!” Prompto grinned. “And good morning.”

Noctis sat on the bed, then fell backwards, arm outstretched. “Morning.”

“After I kick Gladio’s ass,” he said loudly, and they both could hear _in your dreams_ from Gladio. “What do you wanna do?”

“I dunno.” Noctis closed his eyes.

The bed dipped, and Prompto plopped down next to him. Noctis opened one eye to see him staring.

“What?”

“You wanna come with me?”

“Nah.”

“Hmmm,” Prompto wiggled closer, he had only put on the shorts, so his toned chest pressed against Noctis.

It was too early for this. Or at least he hadn't had enough coffee.

“I can think of one workout you might like.”

“Huh?” Noctis said before he could think better of it. He met Prompto’s soft gaze. Then Prompto’s leg draped up over his hips. He pressed against Noctis and drew close, so their lips almost touched.

Noctis held his breath.

“Yo blondie, we doing this?”

Prompto winked, kissed the tip of Noctis’s nose, and rolled away. He was out the door before Noctis could even sit up. Not that he did. Instead he stared at the ceiling and cursed every god for putting him through this.

He heard the door close, and let his heart rate calm before he got back up. His limbs felt heavy as he moved back out into the living room and got a bowl of cereal, and then sat on the couch and turned on the tv.

The door to the other room opened, and Ignis emerged. He looked around. “Where is Gladio?”

“Gym,” he said between bites. He didn't want to mention -

“And Prompto?”

 _Damn_ . “Went with him.”

“Oh?” Ignis joined him on the chair opposite where he sat. “Gladio already stepped in?”

Noctis rolled his eyes. “It's just the gym.” He took another bite.

“And I wasn't aware he stayed the night.”

Noctis kept his eyes on the tv.

“Noct,” Ignis sighed. “We are just trying to keep you safe.”

“I’m safe.” He bit back a groan and looked at his cereal. “He's not dangerous. And I gave him my fake name, so he doesn’t know who I am.”

“How do you know that? Do you know much about him?”

Another bite.

“Do you even know his full name?”

Noctis took a second. “Last name’s Argentum.”

“Hmm.”

“Specs please don’t look him up. Like. I know it's not gonna. Be a thing. For long just. Let me have a little bit of a life before I have to grow up.”

This time he did look at Ignis, who studied him with stern eyes. “I'm going to keep an eye on him, and you, but I won't go snooping. Not yet.”

“Promise?” Noct could order it. Ignis did technically report to him, but he wanted Ignis to do this for him, not because he told him to.

“I swear.” Ignis held a hand to his heart. Noctis nodded and went back to his breakfast. Ignis returned to his room.

Noctis finished his breakfast and put the bowl in the sink, and opted to watch TV while sprawled out on the couch until Prompto returned. Without Prompto there he found he was...restless. That same feeling from when they first arrived in Lestallum was hiding in the wings, waiting for its chance to show up again. He tried to quell it by setting up the console he had brought along and tried playing a puzzle game.

* * *

“Aw man, I'm starving, that workout was brutal!”

Noctis hadn’t even heard the door open. He turned around and Prompto was completely drenched in sweat, but he and Gladio were smiling at each other.

“I can’t believe you kept up,” Gladio laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. “But you’re gross, go shower.”

“Ya, ya.” Prompto skipped towards Noctis. “Shower time for me!” He kissed the top of Noctis’s head, and then skipped into the bedroom. When he made eye contact with Gladio, he clearly waited for the sound of the shower before he stepped closer to Noctis.

“Kid’s pretty tough, might have to offer him a job.”

Noctis rolled his eyes. “Please don’t.”

With another laugh, Gladio went into his room. Noctis focused on the game again, because something about Prompto being another guard boiled his blood a little.

Prompto wasn’t a possession, but he felt like he was Noctis’s.

He worried his lip and paused the game when he died a third time, rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands. Prompto wasn’t a person, he technically was something Noctis had ordered.

And yet…

The couch dipped and Noctis opened his eyes as Prompto grabbed the second controller.

Noctis raised an eyebrow. “Do you actually like video games?”

Prompto’s eyes lit up. “Hell yeah I do.”

“Bet you I can kick your ass at smash.”

“Oh, its fucking _on_.

* * *

They were both so focused on their game they hadn’t heard Ignis and Gladio leave, let alone when they returned.

“Did you guys even move?” Gladio walked into Noctis’s periphery.

“Ya, to the kitchen and back, and to pee.”

“Noct, please don't use that word.” He could hear Ignis rolling his eyes.

“Peeeeeeeeee,” Noctis shouted.

Prompto started laughing so hard his chef went flying off the level. That sent them both into hysterics.

“I'm cutting you two off from caffeine.” Ignis rolled his eyes and went into his room.

Gladio threw the nearest pillow at Noctis’s head, and he let himself fall onto Prompto's lap.

“I have been attacked, save me!”

“Alas,” Prompto put a hand to his heart, “I am but a meager squire, I cannot take up the sword m'lord!”

“Fuck’s sake.” Gladio covered his eyes and turned around.

They were both still laughing as the door shut.

“I guess it is getting late. Should sleep.”

“Ya.” They both got up with a bit of trouble from lounging for so long. In his room, Prompto stood at the bed with a sense of nervousness as Noctis locked the door.

“Prompto?

“Do... I mean. Last night I slept...”

_Oh. ya. The box._

“No it. It's cool. Just share the bed. But I'm a kicker.”

Prompto looked up shyly, and his smile was soft. “Thanks.”

They both got into boxers and shirts, and slid into their sides of the bed. Noctis rolled so his back was to Prompto. He curled up and laid there, listening to the sound of Prompto breathing. It was strange - to hear that. Did he need to breathe? Did he even have a pulse?

Noctis slowly shifted so he could face Prompto. He didn't expect him to be facing Noctis. His eyes were closed so he didn’t get to see Noctis surprised.

He could reach out, if he wanted, to touch his face, or his hand as it rested splayed out between them. The moonlight coming through the window, because he had once again forgotten about the curtains, lit up his features. He looked like anyone else while sleeping. No different than when he was in the box.

Noctis rolled back over and focused on falling asleep.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They had a timer. Of course they did. Eventually Noctis would go back home. Eventually he would have to figure out...this. He couldn't take Prompto back to Insomnia. 
> 
> But he _wanted_ to.

This time when Noctis woke up, he couldn’t help but feel relief at seeing Prompto still beside him. He wasn't in the same position as the night before - he had ended up on his back, one leg out from under the comforter, head tilted back, and mouth open a little.

It was cute.

Noctis got out of bed quietly and went to the bathroom. After a splash of water and brushing his teeth, he got into comfy pants and ventured out into the living room. He felt like he shouldn't wake up Prompto.

Ignis was in the kitchenette pouring coffee beans into the grinder. “Good morning.”

“Hey.” He grabbed a cup and stood next to Ignis. “Any word from home?”

Ignis focused on pouring the coffee into the fancy press he used as the kettle whistled.

“Stable, for now. But no return date for us has been given.” He poured the water into the press.

Noctis nodded. Ignis pushed the plunger of the press down. In the meantime, Noctis got his sugar and creamer into his mug. He wished there was more news for them to go on, or at least a date that he could look forward to.

“Is he here?” Ignis looked over Noctis towards his door.

Noctis tried not to let himself blush. “Sleeping.”

“Is he staying here?”

Noctis shrugged. “I'm not gonna kick him out if he wants to be here.”

“That isn't what I'm suggesting. Noct-”

He blew across the top of his mug and inhaled the smell of coffee. “I know, I know, be safe.”

“It's not just that. It's also about Prompto.”

That made Noctis pause and finally make eye contact. “What?

“ _You_ know you shouldn't get attached. But does he?”

“Prompto.” Noctis looked into his cup and studied the swirls of white. “He knows. The deal.”

“Are you certain?”

“What? Ya. Why are you so concerned for him?”

“The way he looks at you,” Gladio appeared around the corner, clearly just back from the gym. “He's already attached.”

Noctis gripped his cup a little harder. How was he supposed to explain this, why he wasn’t worried? Because he is coded to be attached, it was what he was made for.

And yet, that thought made him silent because he _was_ worried. Did Prompto really get it? And what did Noctis want, really? What could Prompto be, in the end?

What would happen when they returned to Insomnia?

Noctis pushed off the counter. “Still sleepy.”

“Noct,” Ignis said quietly, “be honest with him sooner rather than later.”

“Ya.”

He went back into the room. Prompto was still passed out. He set his mug down on the nightstand and stood there, watching him. Then he grabbed his phone and went out onto the balcony. The early morning air was still cool, and the sun hadn't hit where he was yet. He sat on the chair and looked down at his phone. He wasn't sure what to do. Prompto wasn't just some guy.

He couldn't even honestly ask for advice, without explaining the situation. And what exactly was the situation?

He took a few deep, cleansing breaths.

“Knock knock,” came a voice at the door. Prompto popped his head out, hair a disaster and eyes sleepy.

“Hey.”

Prompto sat down in the chair next to him. “Nice out.”

“Mm.”

Noctis wouldn’t keep himself from leaning into Prompto’s shoulder as they sat there, quietly soaking in the city around them, and Noctis pushed his conversation with Ignis and Gladio to the back of his mind.

* * *

Every day after that, they would spend most of their time out of the hotel room. Noctis couldn’t remember the last time he had been out so much - probably high school. Seeing everything through the lens of Prompto’s experiences made things...better. They spent hours in the market, Prompto talking up each and every merchant so they both learned about the people, the ingredients. They would take new things back for Ignis to try. Find new books for Gladio. New body wash. New coffee. They picked out clothes for Prompto at one of the small boutique shops they stumbled upon. Noctis got himself some more weather appropriate things as well.

Early on they found a refurbished camera, and Noctis bought it for Prompto because he wouldn’t stop staring at it. After that their days became peppered with photoshoots, nature shots, sitting close to each other each night and looking through all the photos. Talking about ways Prompto could do better.

It wasn’t long before Ignis and Gladio stopped giving Noctis stern looks whenever Prompto’s back was to them. Prompto quickly became part of their space, part of their routine. If Ignis had tried looking into Prompto, he hadn’t mentioned that he had found nothing. And that was fine with Noctis. They watched movies together, and Prompto had even convinced Ignis to join in on some gaming a few times.

Prompto still slept beside Noctis, but most mornings he was awake early and would use the gym. They didn’t kiss again, but sometimes they would hold hands, or just sit close. And Noctis found himself getting more and more comfortable with the space Prompto filled for him.

After about two weeks, Noctis woke and Prompto was still in bed, transfixed on the television.

“S’that?” He managed to say while pulling the blanket up to his chin. It was clearly some kind of survival show.

“We should go somewhere!” Prompto grinned and looked at Noctis. “Some sort of adventure. What do you want to do?”

Noctis rolled up slowly. “There's a river nearby, River Wennath.” He had been looking it up before they had left Insomnia, to check out the area that would be his home for who knew how long. “Have you ever been fishing?”

That was a stupid question, but it came to him so naturally.

Prompto glossed over it. “Nope! Bet you can teach me?”

“Ya, sure thing.”

“Woo!” Prompto hopped off the chair. “But first, man I’m hungry.”

“Same.” They both went back inside. “I think I saw croissants.”

“Oh, hell ya!”

In the living room, Ignis and Gladio were gone, the door closed so he couldn't tell if they were around or not. Prompto got himself some coffee and popped a croissant in his mouth, holding it as he went to the couch. Noctis joined him and once again it was like they couldn't have space between them. There was a comfortable silence between them as they watched tv and had breakfast.

The door opened, and Ignis and Gladio emerged.

“Ah, Prompto, good morning.”

“Hey hey! We’re going fishing today at River Wennath!”

“Oh?”

“You guys want in?”

Noctis didn't look away from the tv as Prompto offered, but he was surprised.

“Sure, why not?” Gladio appeared in front of them. “Would be nice to get out in nature and take advantage of it while we are here. Back home it takes hours to get anywhere like that. Why not just camp for the night?”

“I’ll pack us some lunch.”

“I'll get the gear.”

As Ignis and Gladio began preparations, Noctis had a sudden urge to get away, just for a minute at least, to work through the strange feeling of jealousy rushing through his body. He got up from the couch and went into his room, ignoring Prompto calling his name.

Prompto followed, and closed the door behind him as Noctis leaned against the patio door.

“You okay?”

“Ya.” Noctis looked at Prompto and gave him a half smile. “Just didn't expect you to invite them.”

Prompto played with the bracelet around his wrist. “Oh, was that bad?”

“No, it's fine. I like that you can talk to them so easily.”

They stood there for a minute, and this time the silence was uncomfortable. “I’ll uh, get ready, then you can have the bathroom.”

“Sure!” Prompto jumped on the bed, resting with a pillow tucked under him as he rested on his stomach and started flipping through channels.

“Right.” Noctis went into the bathroom, brushed his teeth. He got changed, something comfortable for the weather and a baseball cap.

Once out, Prompto gave a cheery smile as he moved into the bathroom. Noctis sank onto the bed and browsed his phone, doing everything he could to distract himself from the thoughts pinging back and forth - jealousy, disappointment, selfishness.

Confusion.

Prompto emerged from the bathroom. “Ready!”

They both met the others in the living room, and Noctis realized this was suddenly becoming a much bigger deal.

“What is all that?” He pointed at the bags at the door.

Gladio waved at the bags casually. “Just some supplies, figured we can have a picnic and then some dessert to celebrate your catch. And why not stay out there overnight?”

“Oh man, this is gonna be fun!” Prompto hopped around. Noctis tried to smile.

“Ya, cool.”

They all piled into the Regalia. It felt weird to have Prompto in there with them. Gladio and Ignis were in the front while Noctis and Prompto sat in the back. Ignis rolled the top down, and they started the drive. It wasn’t too far, about half an hour. The wind swept over them, and Prompto was very preoccupied with watching the world go by.

The words Prompto had said before, about how others had been sent back, floated around his head. And that he had thought he would just be...a thing.

Noctis tried to wrap his brain around what exactly Prompto was and where he came from. To say he had heard of other androids being sent back and memories wiped suggested they spoke to each other. But if they were just made in a factory, how was that possible?

“We’re here,” Ignis announced. Prompto bounced and cheered as the car was parked on a small dirt trail. Up in the distance Noctis could see a lake.

Noctis stretched once he was out of the car and overlooking the scenery. They had parked in a small lot on the side of the road, but the walk to the camping spot was just a quick walk down some stairs and through some trees, and was exactly what Noctis had seen online - the river was wide and clear, and the campsite was a flat rock that he could fish straight from.

“Let’s get set up.” Gladio bumped his shoulder, but Noctis kept his focus out over the water. He heard them setting up the tent, Prompto helping, him and Gladio joking with each other. Ignis offering commentary.

That weight in his stomach returned. He looked over his shoulder and once Prompto was distracted with the tent, Noctis pulled his fishing supplies out of the armiger. Anyone who was anyone would recognize the magic of the armiger - it was the biggest thing the royal line had going for them after all - so he knew he couldn’t use his magic in front of Prompto. If Prompto acted like he didn’t understand what was going on, that would be a red flag. And plus, they were supposed to be undercover, so revealing he was the Prince…

It was all so complicated.

Noctis plopped down onto the dock and took off his shoes and socks and rolled up his pants. He took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. He tried to focus on the environment around him - the chirping of birds. The splash of fish coming to the surface.

“It’s pretty,” Prompto whispered as he sat beside Noctis with barely an inch between them. “The sun is nice.”

Noctis turned to him. He was leaning back on his hands, head tilted up and eyes closed.

“You’ll get burned.”

“Don't think that's possible.”

Noctis found he couldn't really laugh at that. “What if it is, though?”

Prompto hummed and opened one eye to look at him. “I don't wanna move.”

“Fine by me,” Noctis smiled and went back to watching the lure bobbing in the water. Prompto moved, scooting around to sit behind Noctis, head resting on his shoulder.

“Ooo now I can just. Loaf.”

“Loaf?”

“Ya, just. Sleep now. Good night.”

“What, am I just a pillow to you?”

“Maybe.” Prompto rested against his back. Noctis couldn’t help how comfortable he felt. Just as he felt like his body was starting to relax, there was a tug at his line.

“Oh!” Noctis sat up and Prompto made a sound as he stumbled a little. “Sorry, but I got something!”

Prompto crawled around and stood as Noctis also stood, carefully reeling in the line. He heard Ignis and Gladio walking up from behind as he focused on pulling in the fish.

“It’s huge!” Prompto shouted as he looked into the water.

“Come to papa!” Noctis reeled in the line.

“Line’s not gonna last!” Gladio shouted.

Noctis tugged hard as the fish fought back against him. “It’s fine!”

Prompto moved behind Noctis and braced his back to keep him from falling backwards. “You got this!”

“You’re not gonna get it -” Gladio stepped up beside Noctis and crouched down to watch as the fish fought. He whistled. “This one is really big.”

“I would do better if you’d shut up!” Noctis gritted between his teeth. “I don’t need your backseat fishing right now.”

Gladio laughed and stepped out of his periphery. Prompto was still at his back cheering him on.

“Almost…”

“The line can’t take much more,” Ignis said under his breath, but still loud enough Noctis could hear.

“Just...a little more!” Prompto bounced around him. The fish was getting closer and wearing out, his fight having longer pauses in between its thrashing. Noctis concentrated, watching the movement of the fish and then -

“You got it!” Prompto shouted and jumped up and down. “Guys, guys, look, it's huge!”

Noctis used his hook to grab the fish by the mouth as soon as it was close enough. He could barely lift it with both hands - it was as long as his torso and just as wide.

“Well, look at that,” Gladio mused as Noctis turned to show it off.

Ignis applauded. “Seems we won’t starve tonight after all.”

“You guys have such little faith in me.”

“I believed in you!” Prompto clapped him on the back.

Noctis blushed a little. “Thanks.”

“Give it here.” Gladio reached forward and Noctis handed it over. “We’ll take care of it.”

“Thanks.”

Prompto bounced around. “You wanna try some more?”

“Ya.” Noctis respooled his line, and applied a new lure. Now that dinner was already caught, he could focus on just sitting quietly, watching the bobber. Watching the water.

He sat once more, legs dangling off the edge. This time Prompto sat beside him in the same manner, watching intently.

“You don’t have to sit here if it’s boring.”

Prompto shook his head. “Not boring, it’s nice. Being outside, fresh air, the cool breeze.”

His lure had a few nibbles. Noctis reeled it in a little, but the fish swam off. “Did you uh, ever get to go outside before?”

Prompto’s face was expressionless as he kept looking out over the water. “Naw, that wasn’t part of the program. And most of us don’t expect to be out, much.”

“Oh.”

He wanted to ask more about his time in the factory, but Noctis felt that it was intrusive, and strange. Prompto was some sort of android, and yet he talked as if he lived in the factory before getting shipped off. He mentioned talking to other units and hearing their stories.

It sure didn't sound like any android facility he’d ever heard of.

They spent the rest of the afternoon just sitting there. After that, Noctis went without catching much aside from fish that were too small to keep. As the sun set and the air cooled, they sat around the fire. Ignis had brought potatoes they baked in foil over the fire, and with the crispy pieces of fish it was pretty great. Noctis and Prompto sat close on one side, while Ignis and Gladio sat across.

They were clearly having their own conversation, so Noctis felt fine sitting quietly and watching the wood crack from the flames.

“Hey,” Prompto whispered, and Noctis turned his head to see Prompto had finished his food and set the plate on the ground.

“Hm?”

Prompto smiled wide. “I have an idea.”

“Ya?” Noctis looked over the fire where the other two were talking. “What kind?”

When he looked back Prompto winked. “Trust me?”

The truth was, Noctis didn’t trust easily. Part of the gig growing up in his situation. And yet.

“Ya, I do.”

Prompto grabbed his hand. Noctis dropped his plate and they both stood. Prompto pulled Noctis as they stepped away.

“Noct?” Ignis made to stand.

Noctis waved. “It’s fine, just going for a walk!”

Ignis and Gladio still watched, but Noctis turned his head to see where they were going. The sun had vanished behind the mountains and the sky was turning a deeper blue. They were back at the docks, but Prompto pulled them past it towards a cluster of rocks that stretched out into the water.

Prompto stopped and took off his sneakers.

Noctis hesitated. “What are we doing?”

“Just trust me,” he repeated.

So Noctis did. He took off his boots and they both rolled up their pants, and Noctis put his phone in one shoe. He followed Prompto through the shallow cold water, and climbed up the rocks. There was one large one at the edge, and Prompto sat and looked back at Noctis excitedly.

“Come on!”

“Ok, okay.”

Once next to Prompto, he realized the rock was large enough they could both lie down. Prompto did just that, resting on his back and looking up at the sky.

Noctis laid down beside him. Above them the stars had started to come out.

“Oh. Oh wow.”

“I know right?”

“It’s beautiful, Prompto.”

Instead of a response, he felt fingers brush his own. Noctis opened his palm and Prompto took the signal, clasping their hands together. More stars came out.

“I’ve never really taken the time, you know? To look at stars. We don't see them much in Insomnia.”

“I figured.”

“What about you?”

“Me?”

“Sorry, uh, I forget.”

“I guess that's a compliment.”

Noctis squeezed his hand. Prompto returned the gesture.

“Ya, it is.”

“I’m glad...that you didn’t return me.”

Noctis swallowed and turned his head to look at Prompto. “Me too.”

Prompto looked at him as well. They were so close, noses almost touching. “Really?”

“I think…”

Noctis licked his lips and paused, sighing as he looked over Prompto. He felt the warmth pressed against his hand. It was weird to think…

“I think you’re good. For me.” The words were hard to say but Noctis wanted to say them, because they were the truth. Prompto had come in and filled a void Noctis hadn't been paying attention to. In just a couple of days he had nestled into Noctis’s life like it was nothing.

Prompto was blinking at him. “Noct...”

And maybe that was what Prompto was programmed to do. Maybe. But it still felt nice. And maybe Noctis wanted to take advantage of that, for a while.

They had a timer. Of course they did. Eventually Noctis would go back home. Eventually he would have to figure out...this. He couldn't take Prompto back to Insomnia.

But he _wanted to_.

Prompto surged forward. When their lips met, Noctis brought his free hand up to brace the back of Prompto's head, fingers running through his soft hair. The kiss was instantly hot, deep, and sent shivers up Noctis’s spine.

He tugged on their joined hands, and pulled Prompto to roll on top of him. They stopped kissing and both breathed each other's air.

Prompto was framed by the dark blue sky and the stars. He was amazing, he felt amazing every time they were close. Their kisses, their hands fit perfectly together.

That much couldn’t be manufactured. There was no way. But the thought was still there in his head and Noctis hated that everything had an underlying question of what was real and what wasn’t.

Prompto lowered his head and kissed Noctis again, but he was distracted by the thoughts invading his mind.

When Prompto pulled away, Noctis knew he'd been caught. “You okay?”

Noctis moved his hands to Prompto's waist. “Ya, just. We should probably head back before those guys come storming out looking for us.”

Prompto looked over his face. Noctis tried to keep his expression neutral.

“Ya, sure.”

Prompto rolled off and stood, and reached down to help Noctis up. They got their shoes back on, and Noctis confirmed he had no missed calls or anything. It was weirdly comforting that Ignis and Gladio also had the same level of trust in Prompto that he did.

As they walked back, Noctis took Prompto's hand in his. Prompto smiled, though a little weakly, and Noctis worried he had done something wrong, somehow. Then wondered if Prompto’s feelings could be hurt.

He really didn't know what he had gotten himself into.

At the campsite Ignis and Gladio looked only mildly concerned until Noctis nodded to them, and they then relaxed. Ignis lifted a stick he had been holding over the fire - a puffed up marshmallow skewered through it.

“Would you two like s’mores?”


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Did you mean what you said,” Prompto whispered against his lips, “yesterday? At the lake.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has mild sexual content - if you would like to skip, you can read until the sentence "The low murmur of the tv and the air conditioner running lulled him to sleep." and then skip to "They emerged from the room for dinner"
> 
> <3

The tent was too hot way too fast, which propelled Noctis to get up much sooner than he would have liked. But it also meant they could get packed up and back into the safety of air conditioning.

Once back at the hotel, Prompto immediately claimed the shower. Noctis was more than happy to let him. Once the water was on and the door closed Noctis immediately grabbed his laptop and sat back against the wall on the bed.

He went through his texts and found his last messages to Luna, and hit call.

It only took a few rings before she picked up. “Noctis?”

“Hey Luna.”

“Are you feeling better?”

“I’m fine, got some good sleep. I uh, wanted to get some advice.”

“Oh?”

He paused to make sure Prompto wasn’t coming out of the bathroom. The shower started, but he still kept his voice down.

Noctis bit his lip. “I met someone.”

Luna gasped. “Really?”

Noctis closed his eyes. “Ya, I met him at the market where we’re staying.”

“He must be something if you’re mentioning it to me, you don't usually do relationships.”

“Ya, I know.” She wasn't wrong. Noctis hadn't done relationships because most of the time he couldn't trust anyone to want to be close to him for _him,_ not someone who was in it for his title, for his wealth, for his name. Anonymous hookups in bars when he’d been desperate, on rare occasions, were as far as he ever went.

“But he’s different. And that scares me.”

“Why?”

Noctis was putting way more thought into his words than normal but thankfully Luna was patient with him, as always.

“I feel like. Things could move really fast.”

“What are you afraid of if that happens?”

“I’ll get hurt.” It wasn’t a lie. There was no world where this would work out, and if Noctis did get attached, when the time came to go home that would be it. And what would he even do, just abandon Prompto like...a cat?

Luna’s soft laughter was both a comfort and a reprimand in one breath. “That's what relationships are, Noctis. There's always a risk. Romantic, platonic, anything. You can't live life afraid; you'll never experience any of the great things either.”

“But…” He leaned his head back and stared up. “Is it okay? To just. Enjoy yourself, even if you know you can't have it forever?”

Luna hummed. “Why do you think that's the end result?”

“It just seems inevitable.”

“I think only you can answer that, Noctis. You must decide what you value more. Do you want some happiness you will treasure forever, or live with doubt and regret because you didn't?”

“When you put it like that, you make it sound like there’s an obvious answer.”

“Maybe because there is.”

He let out a huff of a laugh. “Always so optimistic.”

“You should try it sometime.”

“You’re right, as usual.”

“He's there right now, isn't he?”

Noctis swallowed, and knew his silence would be answer enough.

Again, with her soft laugh. “Keep me posted?”

“Ya, of course.”

“Talk soon.”

Prompto opened the door and the steam coming out of the bathroom was unreal and also so inviting.

“Oh man.” Noctis slid to the edge of the bed as Prompto approached. “I can’t wait to take a hot as fuck shower and a nap.”

“I'll be here,” Prompto sang in reply, and leaned over to give Noctis a kiss on his lips.

Noctis thought back to the night before. To that electricity in his gut. He had said before he wanted to take things at a slow, chill pace but something about Prompto threw all reasoning out the window.

Noctis managed to pull himself away. Once in the shower he tried to review what he had about Prompto, and others like him.

After showering, Noctis walked out and found Prompto seemingly passed out on top of the sheets. Quietly, Noctis walked around and crawled into bed.

“...mmm hi.” Prompto rolled onto his side to face Noctis but didn't open his eyes.

“Hey.” Noctis rested his head on a pillow and kissed Prompto's forehead. “Sleep-sleep.”

“Mmm sleep.” He yawned and Noctis did as well, then draped an arm over Prompto’s waist. Prompto scooted closer and their legs intertwined.

Noctis let out a slow breath.

“Comfy,” he whispered. Prompto nuzzled against him until he tucked under Noctis’s chin and rested his arm over Noctis.

The low murmur of the tv and the air conditioner running lulled him to sleep.

* * *

By the time he fluttered his eyes open, the sun was setting and casting a soft golden glow through the room. He hadn't moved from where he fell asleep - Prompto tucked against him still and each of them holding onto each other.

The smell of food wafted in and he could hear the sounds of cooking. Ignis took advantage of the small kitchen as much as possible. Noctis knew it also gave him an outlet for nervous energy.

Prompto muttered something and moved his head. His lips pressed against Noctis’s collarbone.

The nervousness in his heart became a quiet murmur, replaced instead by his pulse quickening as Prompto placed more light kisses along the collarbone, to the shoulder, up Noctis’s neck.

It was at the crook of his neck that Noctis stretched, leaning his head back and sighing. His hand gripped at Prompto’s shirt.

Prompto tightened his hold and kissed hard just under Noctis’s jaw. His teeth scraped the skin and Noctis arched his back. Without a word or pausing, Prompto slid up Noctis’s body with his hand moving under Noctis’s shirt.

When their lips met, Noctis couldn't fool himself into thinking he wanted things to go slow at all. He inhaled hard and tugged Prompto against him. They were both hard, it was unmistakable, and Noctis groaned into Prompto’s mouth at the feeling of their hips moving against each other. Prompto’s wandering hand scratched up and down his stomach to his hip bone, dragging along the edge of Noctis’s boxers.

His hand hovered there and Noctis responded to what he hoped was a silent question by deepening their kiss. His hand slid down to cling to Prompto’s hip and that was all Prompto needed and thank fuck for that. Prompto’s hand slid past the waistband to cup Noctis.

He moaned into Prompto’s mouth as he moved his hand, slowly. Noctis bucked up into his hand. Their kiss was broken up by heavy breathing every now and again, but they never strayed too far from each other, their lips still connected.

He focused enough to grip Prompto’s own erection and the way Prompto responded to that, with a moan and arching -

“More,” Noctis whispered as they both paused for air. “Prompto.”

“Did you mean what you said,” Prompto whispered against his lips, “yesterday? At the lake.”

 _I think you’re good for me_ .

“Ya,” Noctis spoke before he could even pause to second guess anything happening. “Ya, I meant it.”

This time when they kissed there was something in the way Prompto clung to Noctis that felt new and terrifying and amazing all at once.

Prompto pulled away and Noctis whined before he could stop himself.

“I’m gonna move you.”

“Ya,” Noctis closed his eyes, and let Prompto lift him, until he was on top of Prompto, and Prompto was on his back, and--

“Oh fuck,” he said much louder than he meant to, because Prompto covered his mouth with one hand. The other went to his stomach. Noctis squirmed. He could feel Prompto pressing up against him, so hard. He whined against the hand as Prompto pushed up again.

They were hardly doing anything more than grinding like a couple of teenagers, but it had Noctis ascending.

Prompto kept his mouth covered. “Is this okay?”

Noctis nodded and arched his back.

“Okay.”

He guided Noctis's head to turn to the left. When their lips met, this time it wasn't just soft. Prompto immediately surged forward, tongue pressing against Noctis’s. At the same time Prompto walked his fingers down to grip Noctis. They were kissing sloppily, groaning into each other’s mouths, but he didn't care at this point. He was too excited, too keyed up now to do anything else than let Prompto lead.

Prompto rolled his hips and the pressure was such a tease and Noctis found he loved it. Noctis began to push back - he let one hand move up to slide through Prompto’s hair and hold on, which won a jerk of Prompto’s hips.

Prompto's hand slid back up. He pinched one nipple, and Noctis gasped into Prompto’s mouth.

That same hand slid down, and the anticipation had Noctis arching his back to guide the hand, which also meant he pushed against Prompto's erection.

“Fuck,” he muttered against warm lips and the word was quickly swallowed.

“MMMhnm,” Prompto slid his fingers down and alongside Noctis’s dick and he wanted to scream, he wanted to be touched so badly.

Prompto took him in hand and swiped the tip, and moved his wrist in time with his hips pushing against Noctis’s. It was almost embarrassing, how quickly he was coming undone. But Prompto’s breaths were also uneven, and his precome had him sliding more against Noctis.

He managed to break from their kiss, panting against Prompto’s lips. “I’m -”

Prompto moaned, squeezed, and Noctis was done for with one more press against him. Prompto covered his mouth again as Noctis bucked into his fist, pushed against Prompto. Prompto bit down on Noctis’s shoulder as he rocked through his own orgasm, slipping against Noctis’s skin.

When they stopped moving, Prompto released his grip, and they both let out long sighs.

Prompto nuzzled against his neck. “You good?”

“Fuck,” Noctis whispered. “Fuck. Ya. I’m good.”

* * *

They emerged from the room for dinner after a quick shower - Noctis didn't want to think about why Ignis hadn’t called them because what if they were loud? But if they knew what was happening behind the door, they didn't give it away as they were sitting on the couch watching tv.

“Food is still warm,” Ignis motioned towards the kitchen, “please help yourselves.”

“Thanks!” Prompto skipped ahead.

Noctis smiled. They got their plates - tonight was curry and rice - and joined the others on the couches. Noctis felt...warm...comfortable. He was cozy and cuddled up against Prompto, a mess of tangled legs as they scarfed their food.

“I found quite a few ingredients in the market that I believe are native to this region.”

“This looks great, Specs.” He wasn’t lying - there was steaming hot rice, and a pot of what looked and smelled like curry, and some condiments as well.

Ignis collected his own portion and sat on the couch next to Gladio. “Hopefully the taste is to your liking.”

Gladio swallowed a mouthful of food. “Can confirm, it’s as good as back home.”

“Best curry I’ve ever had!” Prompto cheered. Ignis laughed softly. It was good to hear him laugh.

Noctis took a few bites. It was peppery and just the right amount of spicy. “This is great! It’s like curry but uuh..meatier?”

“Ah yes, that would be the Daggerquill.”

The commercial break ended, and the news came back on, talking about the negotiations at the Citadel with his dad.

Seeing his dad on the screen made Noctis feel uneasy. “Do we have to watch the news though?”

“It's good to know what is going on.”

Noctis sighed and looked up - Niflheim had arrived to start the talks. Noctis watched as the group was filmed walking up the steps -

He saw a familiar figure alongside the Emperor. “Wait, who’s that?”

Ignis looked up to the screen. “Who?”

“The guy with the hat.”

“Ah, the Chancellor to Niflheim?”

Noctis looked at Ignis, who was still watching the tv. “Wait, you’re serious?”

Ignis turned and gave him a confused look. “Why would I joke about that?”

Noctis turned to watch the news again. There was no mistaking it. The chancellor was the same man who had bumped into Noctis in the market, had handed him the business card and the discount and -

Noctis looked at Prompto, who was eating his food and watching the tv like it was nothing. Maybe he didn’t know all the ins and outs of where he came from. Ignis and Gladio thought Prompto was just a dude.

“Noct? You look pale.”

“I‘m fine.”

He stood and set his plate on the counter and went into his room, then to his bathroom. He gripped the sink and took a few breaths.

“Noct, I’m coming in.” It was ignis. He stood at the door to the bathroom with a worried expression.

“Specs,” Noctis started, stopped, then pushed back and out of the bathroom into his room. The box was still on the other side of the bed, which was better to help him figure out what he would say. He did rummage through his dresser though and grabbed the business card he had kept in there.

“That guy...the chancellor.” Noctis’s arm shook as he stretched it out to hand Ignis the card. “The first day, while you and Gladio were out, I went to the market.”

Ignis didn’t speak as he took the card, so Noctis continued. “I was about to leave, and this --person, bumped into me and made me drop my water bottle.” Now that he had started Noctis felt like he couldn’t stop. “He gave me money to cover it, and I was like ‘thanks, it’s no problem’, I didn’t want to cause a scene. But then he gave me...that.”

Ignis finally looked at the card. He flipped it to see the words adagium, and both eyebrows raised.

“Noctis-”

“I didn’t think it was a big deal! Then I was just. I was feeling so shitty one day, I went on the site and it’s a company for ordering some kind of android.”

Ignis’s head snapped up to meet Noctis’s stare and he saw it, saw the wheels turning because Ignis was smart and that was his saving grace because Noctis thought he might pass out.

“The chancellor gave you this card.”

Noctis nodded.

“It’s Prompto, isn’t it.” Ignis said quietly, but there was anger underlying his tone.

Noctis tucked his arms up across his chest and sat on the bed. “I didn’t know, I swear.” He kept his eyes focused on the carpet, on his feet.

“Noct?” Prompto’s worried voice sliced through the silence. When he looked up, Prompto stood at the door, eyes wide.

“Please give us a moment, Prompto.” Ignis’s voice didn’t give away any emotion. When Prompto met Noctis’s gaze, Noctis nodded.

“I’ll be right there, Prompto.”

“O-okay!” He slid away and heard some chatter, as Gladio was still out there.

Ignis waited a few breaths and then turned back to Noctis. “I have to report this.”

Something broke a little in Noctis, then. “Do - we don’t, right? We don’t know what this means.”

“I’m sorry, Noctis. But this is too big to ignore.”

“Maybe someone back home knows about this tech!”

Ignis shook his head. “Gladio, a moment please.”

Noctis shrank a little more as Gladio appeared in the doorway. “What’s up?”

Ignis motioned with his chin. Gladio stepped in and closed the door behind him.

“We have a security breach.”

“What?” Gladio looked between Ignis and Noctis. “How?”

“The chancellor,” Ignis kept his composure as he handed Gladio the business card, “was apparently here, in Lestallum. When we first arrived. And he gave Noctis this.”

Gladio stared at the card, then Ignis. “And?”

“I’m pretty sure it’s one of the research cells we’ve been looking into, using android playmates as a front for testing new super soldier tech.”

“Wait, what?” This was the first Noctis had heard of such a thing - he just thought maybe the chancellor meant he had something to do with the site in general, not -

Ignis sighed. “Prompto is probably gathering intel, Noctis. For the Empire.”

Gladio made a startled sound. “Wait, that guy?” He pointed to the living room. “Is a robot?”

“He’s--”

“He might be something related to the technology we’ve been hearing the Empire is dabbling in. Yes.”

“No - there’s no way!”

“Gladio, stay out there with Prompto. Make sure he doesn’t leave. I’ll call this in.”

“Hey!” Noctis stood up. “What are you doing?”

“It’s called our job.” Gladio’s tone was a warning. Noctis had never heard him use that towards him before, only other people.

And then with that, Gladio was out the door, closing it just as he heard Prompto say something from the couch.

“He won’t hurt Prompto,” Ignis said as if that was any kind of assurance.

“Prompto isn’t a spy!”

“That you know.” Ignis pulled out his cellphone. “I’m sorry, Noctis.”

Ignis stood between Noctis and the door. He could have gone to the window, but that would accomplish nothing because Prompto was still in the living room.

“Marshal, yes, we have a security breach.”

“You’re calling _Cor?”_

Noctis tried to get Ignis to look at him, as he sat there on the bed, But Ignis was focused on the door, and nodding along to whatever Cor was telling him. This was bad, so fucking bad. He hadn’t thought - he wasn’t sure what he thought.

“Thank you, Marshal.” Ignis hung up and gave Noctis a look that was equal parts apologetic and stern. “You are to stay in here. That's an order from Cor.”

“I don't take orders -”

“You do when you’ve potentially compromised yourself and the crown.” Ignis opened the door. “I’m sorry, Noctis.”

He rose off the bed and nearly flew forward to get his arm in the way before Ignis could close the door.

“Prompto!” He managed to see over Ignis’s shoulder at Prompto, standing in the middle of the room, Gladio positioned himself between him and the door.

“Noct?” Prompto’s voice shook.

“You’re making this harder on yourself,” Ignis whispered as he acted as a blockade to keep Noctis from getting out of the room.

“You’re not listening!” Noctis warped, phasing out on the other side of Ignis. “Prompto you gotta run!” He shouted as Ignis came up behind and grabbed his arms, pulling them around his back.

He watched as Gladio grabbed Prompto as he tried to run, tossing him onto the ground and pinning him there.

Noctis choked on a sob as Ignis pulled him back to the bedroom. Noctis kept his stare on Prompto, who wasn’t even struggling to get up.

“He didn't do anything!”

Ignis used calculated force to get Noctis back inside his room. “Noctis, please listen to reason. Prompto could be pulling information in many ways. And how many times has he had access to your phone? Your laptop?”

Finally, Ignis relented his grip and Noctis pulled away, putting distance between them. “He’s just a guy!”

“You want to believe that,” Ignis took in a breath, “but this was very foolish of you. And you knew something was wrong, otherwise you wouldn't have hidden his true identity.”

Noctis didn't try to move. “That isn’t why…”

“Gladio will keep watch at your door. Cor has sent out a squad to come collect Prompto and take him back to Insomnia. Then we will need to discuss next steps.” Ignis unlocked the door and stepped out, closing the door behind him.

Noctis didn’t move. In the silence Noctis felt alone. He took a few shaky breaths, and wiped his eyes with a sleeve. He could hear murmurs coming from the living room, but Prompto was silent.

He needed a plan. But running would do nothing if he couldn’t run with Prompto. And there was no way he could take down both Ignis and Gladio, not when they were doing what they thought was necessary to protect him.

Noctis sobbed and covered his mouth as his thoughts raced. Prompto was scared. Prompto could also be the enemy. Noctis could have just doomed everyone in his home. Prompto probably felt betrayed. Noctis believed firmly he didn’t know if he was a spy. Or whatever he was.

His heart raced and it was harder to breathe. Noctis got to the bed with shaky legs and collapsed onto it. He pulled a pillow to his chest, curling up to it.

But he knew Ignis was right. If the chancellor had somehow known where Noctis was and passed him that business card, then clearly there was something going on. He knew that. But Prompto shouldn’t be blamed for it. Prompto was just. A guy. And Noctis hadn’t even revealed who he really was, so there would be no reason for anyone to think...

Noctis let out a rough, choked sound and sobbed into the pillow.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “When?” Ignis said, and it was with his serious tone reserved for when he was masking concern.
> 
> Noctis moved slowly to the door. He unlocked it and opened it quietly. When he peeked out Ignis sat on the couch with his back to Noctis.
> 
> “Any survivors?”

Noctis woke up, surprised he had even fallen asleep at some point. He could hear shuffling and footsteps, and loud voices in the living room. He flew out of bed and threw the door open, not caring if Gladio was still holding watch.

He wasn't.

But it was because he was holding Prompto by the arm, presenting him to a group of Kingsglaive.

All eyes went to Noctis when he opened the door.

“Noct!” Prompto shouted and tried to pull away, but even his strength wasn’t a match for the number of glaives surrounding him. He looked terrified.

“Prompto, I’m sorry! I didn’t know…” Noctis pressed his lips together and gripped the doorknob tight. If he tried warping to Prompto, what then? He couldn’t warp out of the room, and there were way too many glaives around.

“What do you mean?!” Prompto stopped fighting, “Noct, what’s going on?” They began moving towards the door. Restraints were put on Prompto’s wrists and ankles. And the whole time he just looked at Noctis with a mix of confusion and betrayal.

“Highness,” Ignis placed a hand on Noctis’s shoulder.

Noctis could only watch as the Kingsglaive walked out the door with Prompto.

When the door closed, Gladio locked it. When he looked to Ignis and Noctis, it wasn’t with pride or excitement.

“Noct,” Ignis pulled his hand away, “we had no choice.”

“But you did.” Noctis stepped back into his room. He closed the door, and was grateful Ignis didn’t try to stop him. He rested his forehead on the door. “You didn't have to get anyone else involved.”

“What do you suppose we should have done?”

Noctis didn’t know the answer. But there had to have been another way. “Maybe talk to him?”

“Noct, we don't know the limits or the lengths to which Niflheim would go. Despite what the site says, remember where this technology is rooted. I said before, we have intel that suggests these are experiments for a kind of soldier. Them being used like this is a field test.”

“I don't….that still doesn't mean Prompto is bad or dangerous.” He refused to believe Prompto was capable of being anything other than who he was, capable of being the enemy.

“I doubt very much he was bad. He probably didn’t even know his true purpose. But that doesn't change things.”

It was as if Ignis read his mind. But the difference was, that did matter to Noctis. It mattered that Prompto wasn’t lying. Noctis stepped away from the door. Exhaustion hung heavy on him despite whatever sleep he managed, so he returned to bed.

“Noct-”

He braced for Ignis to open the door and come in, but Gladio said something low, though he couldn't pick up on it. It didn't matter.

Prompto was surely afraid and no one was probably even explaining to him what was going on. The glaives would treat him as some kind of robot, not a person, but Noctis knew Prompto was more than that. He _was_ a person. At least to him.

Would they torture him to get information out of him? Or just. Take him apart, piece by piece…?

Noctis’s whole body shook with the cry that escaped his throat. It was his fault - if he hadn’t been so stupid, hadn’t ordered Prompto because he was lonely, Prompto would have -

He didn’t know.

Noctis felt around him for the remote for the TV, and turned it on. Loud. He didn’t want to hear Ignis and Gladio. He didn’t want silence.

He wanted Prompto.

He gripped the fabric of his shirt around his chest, at the ache there, knowing he would never see Prompto again, knowing what he had done.

* * *

He was woken up some unknown time later by Ignis’s ringtone loudly going off in the living room. He opened his eyes slowly and sat up, straining to listen.

“When?” Ignis said, and it was with his serious tone reserved for when he was masking concern.

Noctis moved slowly to the door. He unlocked it and opened it quietly. When he peeked out Ignis sat on the couch with his back to Noctis.

“Any survivors?”

A chill went up Noctis’s spine. Something had clearly happened. He wondered if everyone was safe back home, if they were finally facing the reason he was holed up out here in the first palace.

“And the...Prompto?”

All sense of being unseen went out the window. “What happened?!”

Ignis spun around in his seat and made eye contact with Noctis. “Understood, please keep me posted. Yes, thank you.” He hung up and moved towards Noctis as he stepped into the living room and charged forward.

“What happened? Survivors?

“Noctis, please sit first.”

“No, tell me what's going on. Don't coddle me!”

Gladio came out of the bedroom but he only watched from a distance. “Ignis.”

Ignis’s shoulders sagged. “The caravan was attacked. The entire group has been accounted for, no survivors.”

Noctis stumbled a little. “No. No.”

“Prompto wasn't among them. We have reason to believe this was an attack by Niflheim, and they knew exactly where Prompto was and retrieved him before he could get to Insomnia. Before he could be studied.”

“That doesn't make sense,” Gladio spoke up. “Wouldn’t they want Prompto to make it inside?”

Rage bubbled up in Noctis’s throat. “Stop talking about him like he’s a spy!”

“It’s possible they knew Prompto would be immediately inspected. They would rather not risk losing the data he had collected already.”

“He’s a person!” Noctis shouted. They both looked at him. “He's a person.” Noctis sank to the ground and hung his head.

“Noct,” Ignis crouched down. But Noctis refused to look at him. “Noct. I am sorry. I know you were fond of him. But we have to put you and your safety, and your father’s safety, before anything else.

He didn't reply.

Gladio stepped close, towering over them. “Are you even going to think about the fact that those glaives gave their lives to protect you?”

“Gladio -”

“No, I'm not gonna baby him. He acted selfishly and it got comrades killed. And all he cares about is that damn robot.”

“He's not a robot!” Noctis slammed his hands to the ground but he couldn’t bring himself to look up.

Ignis gripped his shoulder gently. “Noctis,”

Noctis rolled out of his touch. “I know...they are dead because of me. But what am I supposed to do?” He finally looked up and met Ignis’s gaze. “ _I_ didn't call the glaives to pick Prompto up.”

Gladio made to grab Noctis, but Ignis rose and pushed him back. “Hey! That's not fair.”

“Why, because then that puts the responsibility on _you_?” Noctis pulled himself up to standing and it was only because Ignis stayed in between them that he didn't charge at Gladio.

“Both of you stop.”

“You need to stop moping and give a shit about others for once in your life.”

“Enough, Gladio!”

“You think I like the idea of people sacrificing themselves for me?” Noctis pushed forward and Ignis raised his arms, holding them away.

“They wouldn't have had to if you’d used your head to begin with.”

“Both of you, enough!” Ignis shouted and pushed them both away from him to create more space.

The room went silent. Noctis had tears in his eyes. “Look, I just…”

“Perhaps you both should take some time alone”. He waved his hands. “I will take care of coordinating search parties for Prompto.”

Noctis knew it was pointless to argue and pointless to have hope. If Niflheim was behind this attack, then he was sure they would have made sure to have Prompto with them before fleeing.

He charged back into his room, and locked the door


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There was a knock at the door that made him jump. Then another, softer this time. He set the plate down to keep listening, and heard a sound like someone hitting the door hard. 
> 
> “Hello?” Noctis took quiet steps towards the door and looked through the peephole - there wasn’t anyone there. 
> 
> There was another knock, this time low on the door. Noctis opened the door and jumped back as a body crumpled forward - he instantly recognized the blond hair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heads up - Prompto is beat up and in pretty bad shape in this chapter, so there are some descriptions of that.

Noctis’s life felt like Prompto had never been there and also like he had lost a limb, and the phantom pains left him unable to do more than the barest of necessities. Trips to the kitchenette were made only after he made sure no one was home. Ignis and Gladio tried fewer and fewer times to reach out to him as the days blurred together.

In the evenings he could hear Ignis on the phone, trying to sort out where they would be going next to hide. Their position was compromised, especially with Prompto’s disappearance. They had to get out of Lestallum, but needed scouts to confirm their other hideouts were still safe, which was taking more time.

Noctis found he didn’t care much. And he hated it. He didn’t want to feel this way, but he couldn’t pull himself out of this hole that was deeper than anything he had ever experienced before.

Noctis missed Prompto. He wasn’t sure how to fix _that_.

One night, Noctis stepped out into the dark living room - Ignis and Gladio’s door was open and the lights were off, so the coast was clear. He made his way to the fridge to scrounge some leftover curry from lunch that day and a soda. As it warmed up in the microwave, Noctis thought more about Prompto. Where he was. He hoped he was okay. Maybe they wiped his memory after they got whatever they needed.

There was only a little solace in the thought that Prompto wouldn’t remember Noctis to miss him. Part of him wanted that same treatment.

The microwave pinged and Noctis took out the hot plate and set it on the counter as he gathered utensils and napkins.

There was a knock at the door that made him jump. Then another, softer this time. He set the plate down to keep listening, and heard a sound like someone hitting the door hard.

“Hello?” Noctis took quiet steps towards the door and looked through the peephole - there wasn’t anyone there.

There was another knock, this time low on the door. Noctis opened the door and jumped back as a body crumpled forward - he instantly recognized the blond hair.

“Prompto!?”

Prompto looked up from the floor. He was a mess - blood and something dark like oil was all over him. He had open wounds on his body, but the biggest offender was his right arm. It looked like it had been torn open and hung weirdly at his side. Noctis dropped to the floor as Prompto reached his left arm up.

“Noct- I’m...sorry.”

“Hey, hey.” Noctis pulled Prompto carefully into his arms and cradled him there with the door resting at his back. “Why are you sorry? What happened?!”

Prompto’s breathing hitched. “I got away.”

“Got away? From the Empire?”

Prompto barely hummed and his head rolled against Noctis’s chest. At that moment there were footsteps down the hallway. Gladio and Ignis rounded the corner and Noctis didn’t care anymore about how anything looked.

“Help! He needs help!” Noctis’s voice cracked. He looked back down to Prompto, “You’ll be okay, just hold on, okay?”

There was no response from Prompto before Gladio swooped in and picked up Prompto under his knees and shoulders.

“Shit, he’s freezing.”

Noctis followed him inside and Ignis closed the door as they moved into Noctis’s room. “Get a warm bath, I'll fetch towels and our first aid kit.”

Gladio and Noctis went into the bathroom and placed Prompto in the tub. Gladio started the water as Noctis peeled off Prompto’s torn up clothes, wincing at how the fabric stuck to the worst wounds. Prompto had come to a little, so Noctis tried to keep muttering that things would be okay.

He had to repeat it, for himself and for Prompto.

“What is this dark stuff?” Noctis whispered once all the clothes were removed.

“It’s…” Prompto wheezed and coughed. “It’s the secret to how we’re made. We were...raised. Then injected. With that. I don’t even really know what it is. Just that. Controls us. And keeps us alive. So I...”

Prompto closed his eyes again. His breaths were shallow.

“Prompto!” Noctis wanted to shake him so badly, but instead he clung to the edge of the tub. The water was dark and had swirls in it like an oil slick. Prompto opened his eyes.

Ignis swooped in, took the dirty clothes, and left the first aid kit. “Clean him off first, so we can see what we’re dealing with. Gladio.” He motioned and Gladio left them alone.

Noctis nodded. “Prompto, hey, can you sit up a little?” He reached forward and pulled Prompto up, and that managed to pull him back a little. He sat upright, and Noctis pulled the tub’s plug so that the dirty water went down the drain.

“I’m gonna turn on the shower, okay?”

Prompto didn’t speak, just stared forward. So Noctis waited a few breaths, then got the shower turned on. He grabbed a washcloth and lightly wiped at Prompto’s skin and watched the mix of red and black get rinsed away. Prompto didn’t move, and didn’t show if anything hurt as Noctis took his time. He turned his attention to the right arm - once cleaned, he could see the skin pulled open, almost to the bone. It made Noctis queasy.

Other than that, Prompto had deep cuts all over but nothing on that same level. It looked like he had put up a fight, plus had injuries from when their car was attacked probably - a range of bullet holes, skin ripped as if dragged across asphalt, angry bruises on his jaw, ribs, thighs. He was a mess, and lucky to be alive, and Noctis thought he might pass out.

“I’m sorry, Noctis, ” Prompto muttered. “I’m sorry, I didn't know. I really didn't, but now -”

Noctis stopped and made sure to look right at Prompto. “You did nothing wrong.”

“But those people...” Prompto’s voice cracked and he squeezed his eyes tight. “I never wanted anyone to...to die because of me.”

“I know, Prompto.” Noctis rubbed his back softly, avoiding the injuries there. “I know, I swear. I don’t blame you for anything.”

Prompto took another wet sounding breath. “But now I’m...free.” He gestured towards his right arm, still angry and open and bleeding. The words Prompto had said, about being _raised._ Then injected.

Prompto was human. He absolutely was, and that meant he could die.

“It...that was also where the chip was. How they collected...data…”

“Prompto,” Noctis started to rummage through the first aid kit. “Save your energy, we need to...you’ll bleed out. Just. Rest.”

Noctis grabbed some gauze and tape and began wrapping it around Prompto’s wrist. His hands shook as the blood just. Wouldn’t stop. It went from dark to light to dark again, and Prompto’s breathing slowed more.

“You know...”

Noctis kept his head down as he worked. “I said don't talk.”

“You know. . . from the others. I thought I would sit alone. . .in a dark room.”

“Prompto-”

“But you treated me...like a person.”

“Because you are.”

“Noct...”

He took a deep breath and pulled his focus from Prompto’s wrist to look him in the eye.

“Even with that stuff gone, Noct,” Prompto smiled and leaned his head back, “I still love you.”

Noctis froze. Prompto’s eyes closed and his arm went limp in Noctis’s grip.

“Prompto, hey. No no no -” He abandoned finishing up taping Prompto’s wrist and leaned forward to feel for a pulse- it was slow. Too slow. “Prompto - wake up, please. Ignis!” He screamed. “He needs help!”

Ignis was instantly in the bathroom and handed Noctis a bottle. “Noct, I think we need more than simple painkillers.”

Noctis’s mind was going a mile a minute. “Ya but, who can we take him to? He’s not. He doesn't need a doctor, does he? Would they even be able to help?”

“We have a connection who might be able to help. But we need to leave now.”

“Okay, okay. Let’s go.” Noctis got up and out of the way as Gladio stepped in and wrapped Prompto in a towel before and picked him up.

“Noctis, focus, we have to get out to the car, come on.”

Gladio had wrapped Prompto up in a blanket so that he was mostly hidden. He looked like he was sleeping against his chest. Ignis wouldn't let Noctis touch Prompto until they were in the Regalia with Prompto stretched out in the backseat, head resting on Noctis’s lap.

The car rumbled to life.

“How long?” Noctis brushed some of Prompto’s bangs off his forehead.

“Four hours.”

“What! Is there nothing closer?”

“It’s our best bet.”

Noctis held his breath to keep from crying. He focused on Prompto’s face, on checking his heartbeat. On feeling for air from his mouth and nose. He was still alive. They had time.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Despite the way his heart ached, Noctis couldn’t hesitate. “It’s fine, as long as he lives. It’s worth it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is some more injuries/medical procedures in this chapter, heads up! If you would like to skip to the bottom, that's the good stuff. ^^

Despite the adrenaline rushing through his body Noctis fell asleep thanks to the lull of the car and the hour. He woke up as the car stopped, and the sky was purple with the rising run.

“Where are we?”

“Hammerhead.”

“What? That’s almost back home.”

The other two got out of the car. Noctis looked down - Prompto looked worse, skin paler and lips almost blue. Noctis checked for a pulse and breathing. They were weak, but they were there.

“Just a little longer, Prompto,” Noctis whispered as Gladio and Ignis opened the doors on each side. Carefully, they maneuvered Prompto out and Gladio once again cradled him in his arms.

“You’re lucky your old man owes me,” a man shouted from the garage. Noctis barely hobbled out of the car as an older guy in dirty overalls and a jacket approached them.

“Who -”

“Hello, Cid,” Ignis cut in.

“This him?” Cid stepped right up to Gladio and inspected the unconscious Prompto in his arms.

“Can you help?” Noctis didn't know him but if he owed Gladio’s dad something…

“I can’t,” Cid didn't look up at Noctis as he replied, “but my granddaughter can.”

“They here?” A bright voice shouted from where Cid came from.

“Yup!” Cid shouted, then motioned towards the garage. “Let's bring him in.” Cid turned and walked away. Gladio followed, but Noctis grabbed Ignis by the forearm.

“Who is this guy?”

Ignis looked in the direction the others went, and tugged Noctis to keep up with him as they walked.

“He is - _was_ , a friend of your father. And Gladio’s. He’s the best mechanic in all of Lucis, and his granddaughter Cindy is rumored to tinker in Niff tech.”

“Prompto isn’t _tech_.” Noctis was about to stop Ignis from going into the garage when Gladio appeared in the door.

“Come on, she’s got questions for you.”

Noctis had questions too. Like how the hell a car mechanic was supposed to help Prompto. He stormed away from Ignis. Inside the garage, Noctis blinked against the harsh lights cast on a table. Prompto laid there, still and pale. It was like some sort of fake hospital set up in a horror movie.

A young woman walked up to Noctis in a cap, grease covered tee, and overalls, blocking his view of Prompto. “How long’s he been like this?”

Noctis crossed his arms. “Like what exactly?”

“Leakin’.”

Noctis winced at the word. “He just showed up at our place like this, I don’t know before that though.”

Cindy nodded. “And before, he didn’t -”

“No, he wasn't like this at all.” Noctis was starting to feel antsy - they were wasting precious time that could be spent figuring out what the hell was going on.

“Okay, got it. Now get out of here, grab some sleep.”

“What! No -”

She turned away from him and headed over to Prompto. “Listen, I have a lot to do to fix ’im and I don’t need any of y’all lookin over my shoulder asking a hundred questions and breaking my focus.”

“No, you don’t understand, he’s…” Noctis wasn’t sure what to say. He wasn’t sure what he could say - what _was_ Prompto, anyways?

Cindy offered a slight smile. “He’ll be fine, I promise.”

“Noct.” Ignis stepped beside him. “Let her focus.”

Noctis stared ahead at the form of Prompto. “Just -” he moved past Cindy and she didn't try to stop him. No one did. He stepped to Prompto's side, still wrapped in the blanket to hide his wounds.

“See you soon,” he whispered, then he walked away and let Ignis and Gladio lead the way to the caravan to sleep.

Once inside, Noctis felt numb. Having a moment to think meant Noctis had to face that he could lose Prompto all over again. He gripped the counter.

Ignis rested a hand on his shoulder. “Noct.”

He rolled away from the contact.

“Hey,” Gladio’s voice boomed in the small space. “We’re all worried.”

“Are you?” Noctis spun and faced them both. “Because last I checked, I wasn’t the one who called in the glaives.”

Ignis held an arm up to Gladio when he tried to step forward. “That isn’t fair.”

Noctis worked his jaw. “Why, because you thought he would make it to Insomnia, and then we’d never have to worry about it again?”

“Get a fucking grip! Our job is to protect you first, not some robot!”

Noctis charged forward, and Ignis put his other arm up, keeping him and Gladio separated.

“He’s not some robot!”

“Both of you stop.”

Noctis sagged and stumbled backwards.

“Noct, take one of the beds in the back, Gladio will take the fold out over the seats.”

With no more energy to argue, Noctis turned and all but crumbled onto the bed, collapsing facing the wall. He wanted to be next to Prompto when he woke up, to be watching over him. He would probably be so scared if he came around.

Not if. _When_.

Noctis heard Ignis get into the bed across from him. He curled up facing the wall, and eventually fell asleep.

* * *

It felt like no time had passed when he was shaken awake by Ignis.

“Noct,” Ignis whispered, and shook his shoulder a little more. “Noct, they’ve asked you to come in please.”

That made him wake up right away. He nearly knocked Ignis in the forehead with his own as he sat up. He was still in the same clothes from the day before, so he just pulled on his sneakers and followed Ignis out the door of the camper. Gladio was already waiting outside. It was bright and hot, and his pants and sweater did not mix well.

But he had more important things to think about.

Stepping inside the garage, he thought he might pass out. There were buckets full of dark liquid and splatters of it all around the table and on the smattering of different tools. A strange, acrid smell hung in the air.

Cindy looked up at them from where she stood, at the foot of the table. Prompto had a blanket draped over him up to his chin instead of wrapped up. Noctis could see he had been cleaned up - the scratches on his face wiped up and small bandages put on.

Fear and worry made him too nervous to speak at first. He stepped forward slowly, unsure if he should even reach out.

“He’s asleep, we gave him some meds that knocked him out. Came to a couple of hours ago and he just kept coughin’ up that...stuff.”

At that, Noctis closed the distance and stood at Prompto’s side. He slowly peeled back the blanket to reveal some of his shoulders - more bandages and bruises than Noctis had never noticed before.

“But we do think it’s mostly out - and I mean,” Cindy paused, and Noctis looked at her, “I know you said you thought this might be some sort of mechanical soldier but, honey, this is a person who’s had machine parts implanted in them. Not the other way around.”

Noctis blinked and looked down at Prompto. “What...does that mean?”

“It means he might be okay. “

He snapped his stare back to her. “Might?”

She didn’t seem to be flustered by Noctis, just concerned as she patted the blanket on Prompto’s feet. “We don't know how he would react to _not_ having any of that gunk in his system. We don't even really know what it is. And whatever he did to his arm, he made a right mess. I did the best I could to stitch him up - but that was the only place I saw anything remotely strange.”

“How so?” Ignis and Gladio stepped up to the other side of the bed. Noctis was grateful that they seemed...worried.

“I could see remnants of some sort of microchip - looks like that had been buried between the bones.”

“His right wrist?”

She nodded.

Noctis sighed. “He used to have a barcode, tattooed there. I had him wear bracelets to hide it.”

He braced for Ignis to scold him, but he didn’t.

She tilted her head. “That could explain it. Might have been how they tracked them.”

“Who?”

“Wherever he came from. It's definitely Niff tech, but who exactly it's hard to say. That whole place is full of so many mad scientists trying to make the next best super soldier.”

“He isn’t a soldier though! He’s just. A guy.”

Cid cleared his throat from behind Noctis and he spun around. He made a gesture for Noctis to look away.

“Ah, thanks papa. That reminds me. So, there's one thing.”

“Huh?” Noctis wasn’t sure he could take much else.

“So, the working theory is that Prompto is human, but the gunk and the chip was all somehow controlling him, monitoring him, and was responsible for keeping him alive in the case of maybe not getting enough sleep or food, stuff like that. If this stuff was a part of his system, there’s a chance his memories and behavior are connected to it.”

Noctis blinked a few times.

“There’s a chance,” Cindy stepped away from the bed a little, “there’s a _small_ chance that when we do this, even though he's a person, it will act as like. A hard reset. This black stuff might have been part of what had him working however he did.”

Prompto’s words from days before about being returned, and getting his memory wiped, was like a flash of painful light in Noctis’s brain. Which meant that there was maybe even a bigger chance than Cindy knew.

“So he won't remember anything?”

“There's a chance he will have some short-term memory loss. Maybe even his entire life. We don't know.”

“But it's either that or. He…”

Cindy nodded.

Despite the way his heart ached, Noctis couldn’t hesitate. “It’s fine, as long as he lives. It’s worth it.”

Everyone looked at him with a downward expression. Noctis suddenly wanted to sleep. To hide. Instead he grabbed a chair and pulled it over next to the table Prompto was laid out on.

“Noct-” Ignis stepped forward.

“I’m not moving.” Noctis crossed his legs at the ankles and his arms over his chest. “I want to be here when he wakes up. Even if he doesn't remember me, he’ll have a lot of questions.”

And Noctis wanted to be the first person Prompto saw, and spoke with, no matter what. It was his fault Prompto was even in this mess. If he hadn’t gone on that stupid website, if he had an ounce of common sense...

“I’ll gather us some drinks and snacks,” Ignis spoke carefully, and he and Gladio left the garage.

Cindy kept herself busy with getting some equipment set up. “This process, it won’t be pretty, Highness.”

“I don't care.”

“Alright.”

Noctis watched as Cindy pulled out a large machine, and what looked like jumper cables.

He wanted to know but also - he didn’t.

“As far as I can tell,” Cindy spoke softly as she continued getting set up, “this dark stuff is all up in his bloodstreams. Again, I’m not exactly sure what it is but in all the research I’ve done on Niff tech, it acts like a kind of poison in the body. _But_ when they tune certain bodies to adjust to it the product is something like - perfect soldiers that only follow orders. I don't entirely understand it yet, but I’m coming closer to figuring out the steps in between. Prompto here is helping me out with that too.”

“So,” she held up one end of the cable. “What I’m going to try doing is to extract the gunk like you would a poison. If I can convince the body that the stuff shouldn't be there, instead of thinking it's part of the blood, maybe it will get rid of it on its own.”

“How will you - it sounds like the gunk has a conscience or something.”

“Not quite, but all DNA, all micro-organisms have some kind of survival instinct, right?”

Noctis blinked. “Are you sure you’re just a mechanic?”

Cindy gave a soft smile. “I have a friend, who travels a lot out here. She and I swap stories and research. I’ve learned a lot from her looking into all this stuff. Who knows, maybe one day it will all be useful. But to answer your question, yes, if I think I can make the body reject the poison like it should have from the start.”

Noctis scooted closer, resting his hand on Prompto’s shoulder. It wasn't exactly an ideal set up - it wasn't a hospital, there was no monitoring his vitals, nothing to ensure Prompto was okay. But he also knew taking him to a real hospital was out of the question.

She hooked up various cables. And then went over to a device that looked like a radio. “Okay, just. Remember. This is for him, alright?”

“Okay.”

“But I need you to let go of him, for your safety.”

Noctis gripped a little tighter, but then relented and sat back, but he stared at Prompto’s face.

Cindy flipped the switch. He heard a sound like electricity snapping in the air. Prompto’s whole body stiffened and his back arched so he almost looked like he was bending backwards. Noctis crossed his arms to keep himself from reaching forward and watched in horror as Prompto twisted, eyes wide open and howling until the sound became garbled like he was underwater.

It was then Noctis saw the extent of the damage. Black oil came out of Prompto’s nose, ran down the corners of his mouth, out his ears and corners of his eyes. Noctis felt bile in the back of his throat and tears welling up to see Prompto like this.

“Cindy -”

“If you’re gonna stay here, you gotta let me do this,” she shouted over the sounds of the machine and Prompto’s howling. She hit the switch again and Prompto collapsed, almost boneless. His chest rose and fell with frantic breaths, but at least he was breathing. And still unconscious. Maybe he wouldn’t remember the pain.

“Is that it?”

“‘’Fraid not. We have to keep going, until there’s nothing more.”

Prompto was still, head turned to one side.

“One, two, three.” Noctis did not look away as Cindy hit the switch again.

* * *

Noctis felt fingers flexing in his hand first. He blinked awake and focused on his and Prompto’s hands, still clasped together. His fingers twitched, and Noctis wondered if Prompto was dreaming. It had been hours since Cindy had deemed him purged of all that gross shit. She had hauled it all off to her friend Sania to study. Maybe something good could come out of all of this, in the end.

They had moved Prompto into the caravan where it would be more comfortable. Noctis, against the words of Ignis and Gladio, had climbed into the bed beside him, lying sideways so he could face Prompto.

Now all that was left was to wait. Wait for Prompto to wake up. Wait to see what Prompto remembered.

Noctis was so exhausted, but he also didn’t want to sleep because what if-what if Prompto woke up?

“Nn-”

Noctis looked back up to Prompto’s face. Prompto’s eyes fluttered open and blinked, stare focused above him. Noctis held his breath as Prompto slowly turned his head to lock eyes with Noctis.

“Hey.” Noctis tried to smile, tried to act cool. Tried to act like he wasn’t terrified he was about to lose something important, because as long as Prompto was okay...

“Noct.” Prompto’s voice was ragged and low but -

“You know me?” Noctis squeezed Prompto’s hand.

Prompto returned the gesture, weakly, but still - “Duh.”

Noctis surged forward and kissed him.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “When will you realize just how amazing you are?”
> 
> At that, Prompto laughed and pushed his bangs out of his face with his free hand. “Honestly? Probably never.”

_Six Months Later_

Returning to Insomnia was surreal after spending so much time away. After Hammerhead, they had relocated to a safe house nestled in the cliffs down south, where Prompto could heal properly from everything.

So, to be walking up the steps to the front doors of the Citadel, hand holding Prompto’s hand, with Ignis and Gladio, meant so much. Noctis was struck by a wave of emotion as he recalled the last time he stood there, saying goodbye to his dad, goodbye to his home, and deep down in his gut unsure if he would return, or when, or what he would return to.

But luckily, none of that was a worry anymore.

As they reached the last step, there stood his dad, and Clarus. His dad leaned on his cane, but overall he looked healthy. He was _smiling_.

Noctis smiled back and looked at Prompto. He was nervous, Noctis could tell. So he squeezed his hand.

“Remember,” Noctis whispered as they walked closer, “my father, all of Lucis. Hell, Eos, owes their lives to _you_. You did this.”

“I didn’t do much except talk,” Prompto whispered back.

“When will you realize just how amazing you are?”

At that, Prompto laughed and pushed his bangs out of his face with his free hand. “Honestly? Probably never.”

“Noctis.” His dad’s voice pulled him to look away from Prompto and before he could do anything, his dad had taken two steps forward and wrapped his arms around him. Noctis released his grip on Prompto to return the hug just as tight and forced himself not to cry.

“Dad,” he croaked and cleared his throat, and once his dad’s grip loosened, he pulled back and gestured to Prompto, still there at his side.

“Dad, this is Prompto.”

Clarus, who had been hugging Gladio and whispering to him, paused at the name. His dad straightened up, turning his calculating stare to Prompto.

“We owe you a great deal.” He lowered his head in a small bow

“I-um. It was the least I could do, sir. Highness. Majesty! I mean, Noct saved me, after all.”

“You’re right, he _is_ modest.”

“What!”

“Told you.”

“Come, let’s get inside, we have much to celebrate.”

Noctis and Prompto fell in line behind his dad and Ignis, then Clarus and Gladio behind them. Prompto’s grip grew tighter the further inside they got, but he had to let Prompto process this. That was the thing Ignis had worked with him on the most. Prompto had _a lot_ to process. There was some deeply rooted trauma, and it would take more than a few months to bounce back from that.

But Noctis was more than ready to be there every step of the way with him.

“Thank you Ignis,” he heard his dad say as he kept walking, and Ignis paused to turn and face them.

“We’ll meet everyone for dinner, but for now let’s get you to your quarters so you can freshen up.”

Clarus followed his dad, and the four of them took the elevator up to the floor of their rooms. Prompto was quiet, observing, fidgeting. Noctis hoped soon he would feel comfortable within the Citadel walls.

The elevator pinged and the doors opened on Ignis and Gladio’s floor. Gladio stepped out, and Ignis followed.

“I’ll come to you in an hour to start getting you ready.”

“Thanks, Specs.”

The elevator doors slid closed, and as it went up to his floor, Noctis found _he_ was nervous. About a lot. He tried to stifle it as he walked down the hallway, as he opened the door to the suite he had been away from for so long, and looked back at Prompto.

“Hey, you’re safe here.”

“I know just. It’s a lot. So much to take in.”

“We’ll go as slow as you want.”

Prompto gave a soft smile as Noctis closed the door behind him.

“Holy shit this is your _room_?” Prompto released his hand and stepped forward, all nervousness apparently lost.

“Ya.”

“Oh wow, look at the view!” Prompto ran forward and pressed against the floor to ceiling windows that gave a view of Insomnia.

“I forgot how much I missed this.” Noctis stepped up beside Prompto and wrapped an arm around his waist.

“You weren't kidding when you were complaining about where we were.”

“I mean, it was okay all things considered. Took some getting used to is all.”

Prompto hummed and pressed a little closer to Noctis. “Is it….is it really okay? That I’m here?”

“Why would you ask that?” Noctis turned and rested his shoulder against the window.

“It’s just. I don't know if I belong here, in this place, I just. I grew up in metal rooms and with the future of just a toy or a soldier -”

“Hey.” Noctis grabbed his shoulder and shook him carefully until Prompto looked at him. The glow of the sunlight as the sun vanished behind the horizon made Prompto’s hair glow and his eyes wild.

“You saved us, okay?”

Prompto let out a long breath and nodded.

“Seriously, Prompto, remember the dinner tonight, it’s to celebrate _you_. _You_ are important.”

“Okay, okay.” Prompto squirmed. “You’re so cheesy.”

“Well you don't seem to get that you are pretty great.”

Once again Prompto looked away and down. He pressed a finger to the glass and slid it around to create a squeaking sound.

“No one will understand where I'm from.”

“You’re here now. It doesn't matter where you're from. And besides, where you’re from? That's what saved us. You had so much intel from your years in the factory, Prompto. No one should ever make you feel bad. Okay? Because of where you’re from, you did this.”

Prompto still didn’t look up. He sniffled. Noctis wrapped both arms around his shoulders and nuzzled against Prompto’s neck. He planted a few soft reassuring kisses.

“Besides, I...I love you. That's enough, right?”

They had said those words before, many times, not long after they had returned to Lestallum. But it still felt heavy in such a good way, every time that they made each moment precious, something to remember.

Prompto let out a ragged breath and sniffled again. He nodded his head, and when he looked up at Noctis there was only a half beat before they were kissing, soft and carefree, the taste of tears mingling on their lips.

“I love you too,” Prompto whispered as they paused between kisses. “I’m just scared. I can’t change where I came from, and that’s something people could always hold over me.”

Noctis shook his head. “Who cares where you were born. You’re here now. You’re one of us now.”

Prompto laughed and Noctis kissed him again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you've read this to the end, thank you thank you thank you so much! I hope you enjoyed this story. 
> 
> You can find me hanging out on [twitter!](https://twitter.com/crazyloststar)


End file.
